by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
August 20, 2024

At this time four years ago, El Paso native Olivia Troye had just left the Trump White House over frustration with the administration’s COVID-19 response and other issues. On Wednesday night, she took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to tell the nation why it’s important that Vice President Kamala Harris defeat former President Donald Trump in November.

“So to my fellow Republicans, you aren't voting for a Democrat. You're voting for democracy,” Troye said at the end of her three-minute speech to the convention. “You aren't betraying our party. You're standing up for our country.”

She told the convention that as a national security expert, a Latina, and the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, “being inside Trump's White House was terrifying.”

In an interview with El Paso Matters the day before her convention address, Troye said the Nov. 5 election is an important moment for the country.

“I am hoping to be part of the permission structure and encourage Republicans, independents, conservative voters to support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for a better future, not only for the country, but for the (Republican) party in many ways, because we have to defeat Donald Trump,” she said.

Troye, 47, is among several prominent Republicans, including Trump administration officials, who are being featured at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

“Donald Trump is a liar. He lies to people. He has no connection to the people that he pretends to actually stand for and represent. He can't stand them,” she told El Paso Matters.

Troye was born and raised in El Paso, graduating from Coronado High School in 1995. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in political science.

She said she was a lifelong Republican, even while growing up in predominantly Democratic El Paso.

“I'm a person that believes in strong defense, strong foreign policy, limited government, which is why I think things like Project 2025 are the antithesis of what the Republican Party actually stands for, because it really advocates for government overreach,” Troye said.

As a conservative, she said she sees the Democratic ticket as a clear choice in this election.

“I don't agree with Kamala Harris on every issue. But the one thing that I know that I can trust her and Tim Walz to do is to protect our freedoms, our individual freedoms.”

Working in the White House

Troye moved to Washington, D.C., after graduating from college, and has worked at the departments of Defense, Energy and Homeland Security. In May 2018, she was named 

Pence’s special advisor for homeland security and counterterrorism.

In February 2020, Trump made Pence chair of the administration’s Coronavirus Task Force. Troye served as the vice president’s chief staffer on the task force, putting her in the room for many of the administration’s decisions about how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She resigned in July 2020, and two months later released a video through a group called Republican Voters Against Trump. In the video, she said Trump didn’t take the virus seriously and his inactions led to additional COVID deaths.

The video, which included Troye endorsing Democrat Joe Biden for president, provoked an angry response from the Trump administration. Keith Kellogg, Pence’s national security advisor, said he fired Troye because her performance was lagging. Troye said Kellogg was “telling a bald-faced lie to protect the president.”

In addition to the handling of the pandemic, Troye had other problems with Trump. Her mother is an immigrant from Mexico and she has family members who were migrant farmworkers. She felt Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric dehumanized and threatened her own family – a fear brought home on Aug. 3, 2019, when a white supremacist gunman killed 23 people in an El Paso Walmart, saying he wanted “to stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

“My aunt was in that Walmart,” Troye said. “The only reason she was thankfully saved was because of some other amazing good Samaritan El Pasoan who pulled her to safety. She saw the shooter firsthand.”

She said she was also sickened in June 2020 when Trump urged a heavy-handed response to people protesting after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

“When you have a president advocating for shooting protestors — Americans — I couldn't get over the fact that that is the president of the United States advocating for the shooting of other Americans,” said Troye,who said she witnessed Trump make the comments in a Cabinet meeting.

Speaking out, facing threats

After resigning and endorsing Biden, Troye continued to criticize Trump in the months leading up to the 2020 election, and again after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to block congressional certification of Biden’s election. 

In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Troye continued her criticism of Trump and has been frequently featured in national media. She has been one of the leaders of the Republicans for Harris group, and shared the stage with the vice president at a Michigan event days before Biden announced he would step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Her criticism of Trump has triggered numerous threats, forcing Troye to reshape her life.

“It has definitely changed my entire way of life and living and being. I'm very guarded being out in public. I have to be careful. The whole thing is ridiculous. I think about where I can take my dogs,” Troye said.

“I even think about my medical care, my doctors, my dentists. I have to think about who they are. Can you believe that?”

Troye takes the threats seriously, but said she won’t shy away from speaking out on what she sees as the defining issues of our time.

“I do think about the implications for my family, quite frankly, and my neighbors who surround my house. But I think that the stakes are so high that it's worth the risk, and I have to do everything I can as a first-hand witness to really try to educate the American voters on how this is very different,” she said.

Troye is one of two El Pasoans with featured roles in the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. El Paso U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is chairing Thursday’s final night of the convention, when Harris will formally accept the party’s presidential nomination.

Even though they come from different political viewpoints, Troye said she has valued Escobar’s friendship and support.

“She has really stood by me with all the death threats and all of the hate I've gotten. She has really been one of my strongest allies and supporters and just a champion for me. I think it's a sign of humanity and who El Paso is,” Troye said. 

6:45 p.m. Aug. 21: This story has been updated to include Olivia Troye's remarks to the Democratic National Convention.

Disclosure: Olivia Troye is a financial supporter of El Paso Matters. Financial supporters play no role in El Paso Matters’ journalism. The news organization’s policy on editorial independence can be found here.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Daniel Perez, El Paso Matters
August 13, 2024

The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents voted 8-0 to approve spending $6.3 million for the design of the planned Clinical Sciences Building at the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus during its quarterly meeting Aug. 8-9 at the system’s Lubbock headquarters.

The proposed five-story, 352,000-square-foot structure will be built on the north end of campus near Interstate 10. Two thirds of the building will be for clinical sciences and cost an estimated $186 million. The rest will house the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center. Its second-stage design process started in June 2023.

Billy Breedlove, vice chancellor for Facilities Planning and Construction, pointed out that the clinical services center and cancer center are being tracked as two separate projects with two separate funding streams. The regents’ recent decision only involved the clinical sciences side. Regent Cody Campbell was not present.

As presented, the clinical sciences services would be on the south end of the building. Each center would have its own entrance.

The expenditure will pay for services such as design development, construction documents and administration, and cost estimates, and will allow planning for the clinical sciences side to catch up with the cancer center. Both centers will be constructed simultaneously.

Richard Lange, TTHEP president, said that the regents' support is a significant step in the university’s mission to provide world-class cancer care to the Borderplex.

“This allows us to move forward with our plans to build a future where every patient receives the highest level of compassionate and comprehensive care close to home,” Lange said. “We look forward to breaking ground soon, here at Texas Tech Health El Paso.”

Breedlove, whose presentation included a conceptual site plan and a cutaway view of the building, said that the new building would do the job of three existing buildings and be more economical. He added that the existing TTHEP clinical sciences space, about 173,000 square feet, is on University Medical Center of El Paso property and has benefited the community for about 40 years. It serves about 1,200 patients daily and is at full capacity.

The new building will continue to offer the existing clinical options such as the Breast Care Center, surgery, neurology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedic surgery and rehabilitations, and several sub-specialties.

“We've had our meetings (and) have included all those clinicians in all of this, and so their input is very valued for our design team,” said Breedlove, who added that his people are working with HDR, one of the country’s largest medical design teams on this project.

The two centers will have exam and procedure rooms to support the clinical practices of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, such as nurses’ stations, lab support, medicine storage, clinical supply rooms and waiting areas.

The conceptual design included a parking lot with about 1,000 spaces, but Breedlove said designers may suggest the construction of the first level of a parking garage. He mentioned that his team wanted to project possible needs and offer the kinds of options for the next 20 years that may involve the need to purchase additional nearby properties.

The funds approved Aug. 8, as well as the previously approved $2.3 million, will come through the Revenue Finance System and be repaid with Capital Construction Assistance Projects Legislative appropriations, as well as gifts and institutional funds.

Breedlove said the multiple funding sources for separate projects that are part of the same building is among the project’s challenges.

Dustin R. Womble, chair of the facilities committee, asked how this kind of combined project could create future conflicts on how expenses get allocated. Breedlove said that the system will need to work hard to ensure that the costs are divided correctly.

Another challenge will be how to deal with the existing railroad operations on the tracks just south of the proposed building site. Breedlove said that Lange wants to create a “quiet zone” in that area where trains are known to blow their whistles long and hard on a daily basis.

A TTHEP spokesman said that Lange is involved in preliminary discussions with several transportation entities to consider options. Breedlove said an initial concept is a tunnel for vehicles and pedestrians to pass under the train track area, and hinted that it could mean buying additional property.

Board chair Mark Griffin, who earlier in the meeting  asked Lange if additional land was needed for this project.

“We’re in the final completion stage of that,” Lange said.

When Regents’ asked for a project timeline, Breedlove said he hoped to present design packages in November along with site and utility packages, some foundation packages in February, and a guaranteed maximum price by May. He said that all funds for the project must be allocated by June 2025. He said the site is basically clear and construction should take no more than three years.  

The Regents approved the initial concept of the Clinical Sciences Building in November 2023. It awarded a little more than $2 million for early design services to include cost estimates and a project schedule. In May, the Regents approved expenditures of $307,000 for the project’s pre-construction activities such as site analysis and a constructability review, and designs for the cancer clinic.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
August 13, 2024

The El Paso Independent School District potentially lost about $3.25 million in state funding during the 2023-24 school year over unexcused absences and poor attendance reporting, according to an internal audit of five campuses.

The overwhelming majority of the losses came from Franklin High School, which reported 40,362 unexcused absences – the equivalent of having 13 days with no students attending class. This totaled a loss of about $2.34 million for the district.

Austin High School lost $562,252 with 9,694 absences, Jefferson High School lost $184,724 with 3,186 absences, the Tinajero Pre-K-8 School lost $118,801 with 2,049 absences and Crockett Elementary School lost $38,802 with 669 absences.

These findings come as school districts all over Texas face budgetary woes as they deal with inflation and no increases in per-pupil funding from the state since 2019. EPISD plans to dig into its reserves after it approved a $542 million budget with an $18.5 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year in late June.

With school funding based on attendance, many districts rely on students showing up to school and proper record keeping to maintain their budgets.

EPISD Chief Internal Auditor Mayra G. Martinez will present the audit findings as part of the Annual Report to the Board Audit Committee at 5 p.m. Wednesday at district headquarters.

“The El Paso ISD Board, in collaboration with the administration, initiated an audit to identify any issues affecting student attendance and ensure our systems are as robust as possible. The audit confirmed our concerns and provided us with specific insights into system gaps that need to be addressed,” El Paso ISD chief communications officer Liza Rodriguez said in a statement.

The audit, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, found instances of students’ attendance being reported inaccurately and teachers using invalid handwritten sign-in sheets to take attendance. 

Additionally, several attendance clerks did not complete training and none of the principals for the five campuses audited attended attendance training at the beginning of the school year.

The audit also found several instances of administrators failing to follow up with students who were excessively absent to create a 45-day intervention plan required under Texas law.

House Bill 2398, passed during the 2015 legislative session, requires schools to notify parents once a student has been absent three times and meet with them to help improve the student’s attendance.

The district did not have a timeline for sending absence notifications to parents and no way to track when notices were sent, or monitoring procedures to ensure attendance plans are developed, according to the audit.

Rodriguez, in a statement, said the district had already implemented changes to its attendance procedures before the report was finalized, including hiring additional staff to track and report absences and implementing new systems to streamline the process and accountability. 

She said principals and attendance staff have undergone training to better manage attendance procedures, “and all staff have been educated on how attendance directly impacts funding and student success.”

“We have also enhanced communication efforts with parents, offering multiple ways to report student absences and reinforcing the importance of consistent attendance,” she said in the statement.

Franklin High School absences

Franklin is EPISD’s largest campus with over 3,000 students, according to the Texas Education Agency. That means that on average, each student at Franklin had 13 unexcused absences last year, or about 7% of all class days.

Of the 40,362 unexcused absences Franklin reported, 37,393 did not include a note or call from parents and 2,968 were unverified.

“Parents/guardians receive notification, and they are provided with policy and procedures regarding attendance; however, parents/guardians keep students at home or pick them up without notifying the campus,” Principal Amanda Bowser stated in the audit.

When asked in the audit how the school would prevent these issues from happening again, Bowser said the campus will follow the district’s new attendance procedures developed for the 2024-25 school year.

Franklin also lost four attendance clerks, leaving it with only three people responsible for documenting attendance for the school year, Bowser said in the audit. She is requesting additional staff to help.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
August 14, 2024

Here’s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Chihuahuas ‘Bark at the Park’

El Paso baseball fans and their pooches are invited to “Bark at the Park” as the El Paso Chihuahuas host the Reno Aces at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, at Southwest University Park. The “Bark at the Park” event allows fans to bring their dogs, provided they have proof of current vaccinations. Children ages 12 and younger also can participate in post-game activities, including running the bases, with a special $5 meal offer available. Information and tickets: milb.com.

Holocaust Museum’s Tour de Tolerance

The El Paso Holocaust Museum will host its 19th annual Tour de Tolerance beginning at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, at Santa Teresa High School, 100 Airport Road in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Events include a 50K bike ride, 5K run/walk, one-mile family fun walk, and a one-mile dog walk. The event is designed to unite participants against hate and injustice, with all proceeds benefiting the museum’s mission to combat prejudice and intolerance through education. Participants can register online through Friday, Aug. 16, or in-person during packet pickup at the museum Aug. 16-17. Information and registration: runsignup.com/tourdetolerance.

‘Historian Studio’ at El Paso Museum of History

The El Paso Museum of History will host the inaugural session of its new discussion series, “Historian Studio: Memories of M.A.Y.A.,” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. The free event, led by historian and community activist Miguel Juarez, will reunite members of the Mexican American Youth Association, or M.A.Y.A., to discuss their history, projects, and contributions to the El Paso community. Modeled after the “Actors Studio” talk show, the series aims to capture community voices through informal interviews. The event also coincides with the upcoming unveiling of a mural by local artist Jesus “Cimi” Alvarado at Armijo Park on Aug. 24. Information: epmuseumofhistory.org.

El Paso Pro-Musica ‘Summerfest’

El Paso Pro-Musica launches its 2024-2025 season with “Summerfest” featuring the fiddle duo of Mark and Maggie O’Connor. The event, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, in the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall on the University of Texas at El Paso campus, will feature a blend of bluegrass, country, jazz and classical music. Information and tickets: elpasopromusica.org.

‘Puente Libre’ Exhibit at El Paso Museum of Art

The El Paso Museum of Art will host an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, for its latest exhibition, “Puente Libre,” a collection of works by artist Francisco Delgado. The exhibit will run from Aug. 16 to Jan. 8, 2025. Delgado, a recipient of the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department Cultural Funding Program, explores cultural identity on the U.S.-Mexico border in the collection. The exhibition is part of the Artist Incubator Program, which supports local artists in creating new work across disciplines. Admission is free. Information: epma.art.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
August 14, 2024

The majority of El Paso County staff and elected officials – including commissioners and the county judge who gave themselves a hefty salary bump last year – will not likely get pay raises in the coming fiscal year.

The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Tuesday instead unanimously approved four additional paid days off during the Christmas holiday break. County employees who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements or deputy pay policies will be off from Dec. 23 through Dec. 31 in lieu of a pay increase.

“I think it would help families plan the whole week,” County Commissioner Carlos Leon said during a budget hearing Tuesday.

The salaries would be formally approved when the court adopts its fiscal year 2025 budget in September. Most county elected officials can request a hearing before a county grievance committee to protest their proposed salary before the budget is approved.

The move comes as the county is facing budget shortfalls from having to pay millions more in salaries for county sheriff officers and other law enforcement officials under previously approved contracts while losing millions in federal revenue for use of county detention facilities. Commissioners this week also voted to take a proposed $324 million bond to voters Nov. 5 that, if approved, will raise the county’s portion of a tax bill by about $60 per year for the average homeowner.

El Paso County Chief Administrator Betsy Keller said salaries for the county judge, commissioners, county attorney, sheriff and other elected officials will remain the same as this fiscal year. Last year, the court approved a controversial 16% pay raise for commissioners and the county judge, as well as a 4.75% raise for other county elected officials.

With that raise, County Commissioners are now paid about $133,500 a year while the county judge’s annual salary is $152,700. The county attorney is paid about $226,500 a year, and the county sheriff makes about $190,200 annually. That salary will also apply to the new sheriff, who will be elected Nov. 5 and take office in January.

“This budget forgoes several critical investments, other than collective bargaining agreement and deputy constable employees, we are not proposing any increases to any other wages in FY25 through step or COLA (cost of living adjustment) increases,” Keller said, adding the majority of county departments either cut their budgets or held the line.

Some county employees, such as deputy constables, will see pay increases that were approved the prior fiscal year.

County Commissioner David Stout said the county implemented a policy last year that gives deputy constables and deputy sergeant constables the same increases as other law enforcement despite not being under the collective bargaining agreement.

There is a $3.4 million increase in personnel costs for the upcoming fiscal year, including the collective bargaining raises and to pay for positions that were added throughout the current fiscal year.

“We added new positions, but we staggered them over the year,” Keller said. “This year we have to pay the full year salary.”

El Paso County budget, tax rate proposals

The county is considering adopting an all-funds budget of about $600 million, including a general fund budget of about $468 million for the next fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The general fund covers day-to-day operations, while the all-funds budget includes the general fund, debt service, capital funds and special revenue funds. The proposed budgets would be lower than last year’s total budget of $602 million and general fund budget of about $476.5 million.

To support the budget, the Commissioners Court on Monday proposed the voter approval tax rate of 47.8 cents per $100 valuation – the highest that could be adopted without going to voters. If that rate is adopted, the county’s portion of a tax bill would increase by about $104 on an average $200,956 value home, county documents show.

But commissioners said they are aiming to adopt a lower tax rate. The court can adopt the proposed rate or something lower, but cannot approve a rate higher than proposed.

Commissioners Illiana Holguin and Leon made a motion to propose the current tax rate for the next fiscal year, citing concerns about public perception.

“I just felt like that (proposing the voter-approval rate) is just going to add anxiety to our residents, because they're going to think that we are actually planning on adopting the voter approval rate, which we're not,” Holguin told El Paso Matters. “We're really trying to get to the revenue rate (and) we think we can get there – we're almost there, but the goal is to get to the no new revenue rate.”

The no new revenue rate would be 45.8 cents per $100 valuation which would be an annual increase of about $65 on an average $200,956 value home, county documents show.

Stout and Coronado voted against it, and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego broke the tie vote. The three voted to propose the voter approval rate, citing more flexibility as they work through the budget process.

The court will hold a public hearing on the proposed tax rate on Aug. 26, when it can adopt the rate. The budget would be adopted by Sept. 16.

El Paso County Budget, Tax Hearings

Here are the upcoming meetings ahead of the county adopting its budget and tax rate:

• Aug. 26: Tax rate public hearing and adoption
• Sept. 16: Budget adoption

To review the county’s meetings and agendas, click here. You can view the Commissioners Court meetings on the county’s YouTube channel.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
August 9, 2024

This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.

El Paso Electric to Seek Rate Increase This Year

El Paso Electric in the coming months will ask the state’s utility regulator if it can raise customers’ rates here, according to EPE filings submitted to the Public Utility Commission of Texas. It’s not clear yet when or how much household power bills in El Paso might rise.  

EPE said it will submit its rate hike application during this year’s fourth quarter, from October through December. That will initiate what will likely be a months-long process in which El Paso Electric will explain to the PUC why the utility thinks it needs to collect more money from its Texas customers. It’s possible that the city of El Paso and major power users in the region will intervene and try to negotiate down EPE’s rate request; it’s common for utilities to propose double-digit percentage rate hikes before eventually settling for a smaller rate increase.

Under the cost-of-service system in place, EPE invests in expenditures such as power plants, solar farms, substations and distribution wires, and more to generate and deliver electricity to customers. Then, EPE goes to the PUC at least every four years to seek a rate increase that will allow EPE to recover the money it invested since its last rate increase. The PUC determines how much monopoly utilities such as EPE can legally profit; currently the utility is allowed to make a 7.5% after-tax rate of return on invested capital. 

EPE last formally raised rates in 2022. But in the time between rate increases, EPE charges customers temporary fees – sometimes called “riders” – that allow EPE to recoup money from customers for various investments the utility makes in between rate increases. For example, EPE began charging customers this year a “generation cost recovery” rider that adds about an extra $2.50 to monthly bills on average. The PUC approved that extra fee so that EPE could quickly start recovering some of the money that it spent building the Newman 6 natural gas power plant unit, but without having to go through a lengthy rate increase process. If EPE wins approval for the proposed rate hike, it would recoup the remainder of its investment in the new power plant.  

El Paso Chamber Hires NEW CEO

Ricardo Mora, a self-described “serial entrepreneur,” has been named the new CEO of the El Paso Chamber. His first day on the job is Aug. 19.

"Strengthening binational commerce is key to our region's prosperity,” said Mora, who has worked on both sides of the border. “The El Paso Chamber is the business community’s lead advocate. I look forward to continuing that work for business today and businesses of the future.”

Mora most recently worked as principal at RM International, a specialized IT and asset management company. He also is the co-founder of the Technology Hub Business Innovation Center in Ciudad Juárez.

“Our selection committee was purposeful in finding a CEO who can help develop and capitalize on opportunities of binational near-shoring, tech manufacturing and human capital development. Ricardo doesn’t just fit the bill, he exceeds it,” said Elizabeth O’Hara, chair of the El Paso Chamber executive board.

Mora succeeds Andrea Hutchins, who served as the El Paso Chamber CEO for almost two years. Hutchins and her husband, an Army colonel, recently moved to Washington state.

Trial of Sinaloa Cartel Leader to Move to New York

The trial of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, a reputed leader of the Sinaloa cartel, will be moved from El Paso to Brooklyn, New York, the New York Times reported earlier this week. Zambada, 76, was apprehended on July 25 at Doña Ana International Jetport, alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Initially appearing in El Paso's Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse, Zambada is now expected to face charges in the same Brooklyn federal courthouse where El Chapo was convicted in 2019. The decision to transfer the trial to New York was influenced by the district’s heightened security measures and its successful prosecution of high-profile cartel cases.

Zambada, who faces multiple federal charges, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney claims Zambada was forcibly brought to the United States against his will by Guzmán López, a claim that remains under scrutiny. The move marks a significant development in the ongoing efforts to dismantle the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel.

The date of Zambada’s transfer and subsequent court appearance in New York has not yet been announced.

Texas Tech Health El Paso Faculty Earn Prestigious Honor

Texas Tech Health El Paso recently announced that seven of its faculty made the Stanford University/Elsevier’s World’s Top 2% of Scientists List. The recognition honors leading researchers in various fields for the quality of their work that is developed in El Paso but benefits the world.

The Texas Tech Health El Paso professors on the list are Stephen Borron, professor and Division Chief of Medical Toxicology; Deborah Clegg, vice president for Research and professor of Internal Medicine; Richard Lange, TTHEP president, dean of the Foster School of Medicine; Richard McCallum, professor and founding chair, Department of Internal Medicine – Division of Gastroenterology, Debabrata Mukherjee, professor and chair of Internal Medicine, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine; Attilio Orazi, professor and chair of Pathology; and Biff F. Palmer, professor in the Department of Medical Education.

List organizers based their decisions on 2022 data such as citations and the impact of their publications.

"With seven of our researchers named in the top 2%, we're demonstrating our commitment to groundbreaking research and reinforcing our status as a global leader in health care," Lange said. "I'm honored to be included on this list, and because our faculty choose to be in this community, I'm proud to join them in demonstrating our commitment to the community and the future medical professionals we teach."

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Sofia Sierra, El Paso Matters
July 29, 2024

For Albert "Tino" Ortega, Aug. 3 will forever remain a solemn date on the calendar. It holds sobering significance for many El Pasoans as on that date in 2019, 23 people were killed in a terrorist attack at an El Paso Walmart, a tragedy fueled by racism that — with nearly 50 federal hate crime charges — became one of the country's largest hate crime cases.

Nearly five years after the incident that also resulted in injuries to 22 people, Ortega hopes his efforts can contribute to his community's collective healing and empowerment.

On Saturday, the city will unveil a new memorial created by Ortega at Jim Crouch Park, formerly known as Ponder Park, 7500 W.H. Burges Drive. It will be one of a slew of events held throughout the region this week to remember the victims of the Walmart tragedy.

When selecting an artist to produce a fitting tribute, Ben Fyffe, El Paso’s managing director of cultural affairs and recreation, who has overseen the project since it was proposed in 2019 said it was important to hire a local Latino artist to take on the project. 

The city selected Ortega, an artist who has painted hyper-realistic balloon murals across El Paso, which depict words such as “Amor”, “Chuco” and “I (heart) El Paso.” Upon being selected to create the memorial, Ortega said he felt proud to take part in artwork that pays tribute to the victims of Aug. 3.

“(When the city chose me) I felt really honored, because, in the wake of the Aug. 3 tragedy, I found myself wanting to give back to my community,” Ortega said. “I saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community I love and grew up in.”

The memorial, meant to convey the shape of a crown, consists of seven angled granite pillars, each engraved with the names of the 23 victims. In the middle of the crown, sitting on top of a star, is a pillar with a poem engraved by local author Gris Muñoz. The crown is surrounded by greenery and 23 lights representing the number of those killed to give an immersive experience for visitors.

With the crown motif, Fyffe and Ortega hoped to achieve a message of empowerment that echoes the strength of the community coming together in the wake of that infamous day.

“To me, I always loved the idea that a crown represented power and nobility,” Ortega said. “When August 3 happened, I saw that as a form of removing people’s power, and it’ll only seem fitting to have that power restored in a way. And so, to me, the symbol of a crown holding power made sense.”

In contrast to his spray-painted murals, which are often only available for a limited time before being covered up, Ortega said this memorial represents longevity, and how precious the time humans have on earth is.

“The main contrast from this piece compared to all my other murals, is the longevity of it. A lot of my murals have been covered up, or no longer there,” Ortega said. “So, the murals are important to me because it signifies how little time we have on this earth, and not everything’s guaranteed. But, this (memorial) is more permanent and long-lasting.”

After years of planning, Ortega said he is grateful for the opportunity to spread positivity through his artwork for the El Paso community.

“I feel really excited to give the community a space to grieve, and see the piece come together,” Ortega said. “I really believe in the idea of how we have a choice in this world to use our energy for good or for bad, and this is a reflection of using your energy for something positive.”

This memorial is the third to be created for the city, and each one has the common goal of helping the El Paso community grieve. 

One memorial was commissioned by the Walmart corporation and is located at the Walmart property where the shooting took place. The second is the Healing Garden, located at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive, which was commissioned by El Paso County.

Construction for the third memorial started this March, and will be completed before the five-year anniversary date. Fyffe said the funding for the project was derived from the public art fund.

“The number that council approved is $250,000 for the artist contract and that is coming from the 2% of the public art fund,” Fyffe said. “The fund is derived from 2% of any capital project that the city issues debt for.” 

Five Years Later: Aug. 3, 2019, Remembrances

Organizations throughout El Paso will mark the five-year anniversary of the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Walmart that claimed 23 lives and injured 22 others. Below is a roundup of events planned this week.

Now-Saturday, Aug. 3

Unite with Light

• When: 8:30 p.m. daily.
• Description: Community members are encouraged to light porches or windows with orange lights each evening in honor of the August 3 victims. Various landmarks and buildings will be illuminated orange in remembrance including public art installations located along Interstate 10 and Airway Boulevard, and near the Abraham Chavez Theatre.

Monday, July 29-Friday, Aug. 2

City Hall Tribute

• When, where: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., City Hall, 300 N. Campbell St.
• Description: A tribute display in the foyer of the City Council chambers featuring photographs of the 23 victims of the Aug. 3, 2019, Walmart shooting.

Thursday, Aug. 1

City Hall Blood Drive

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This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
July 22, 2024

The man who admitted to the Aug. 3, 2019, Cielo Vista Walmart mass shooting is scheduled to be back in a state courtroom in September, more than five years since the shooting that killed 23 people and wounded 22 others.

District Judge Sam Medrano has set a scheduling conference for 9 a.m. Sept. 12 in his 409th District Court. The hearing could lead to a trial date on state charges of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against Patrick Crusius, who turns 26 on Saturday.

Medrano has waived Crusius’ appearance in other state court hearings since his arraignment on Oct. 10, 2019. But the notice for the Sept. 12 hearing says the defendant’s appearance isn’t waived, meaning he must attend the hearing.

Crusius pleaded guilty last year to federal hate crimes and weapons charges and sentenced to 90 consecutive life prison terms.

The guilty plea came after federal prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty. Federal prosecutors have declined to explain that decision, but at his sentencing hearing in July 2023 said he had a long history of mental health issues and had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.

No trial date has been set on state charges, which carry a possible death sentence. Three different district attorneys and multiple state prosecutors have handled the case since the shooting.

District Attorney Bill Hicks, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2022 after Yvonne Rosales resigned two years into a four-year term, has said he will seek the death penalty if Crusius is convicted of capital murder.

Hicks is being challenged in the Nov. 5 election by Democrat James Montoya, who also has said he will seek the death penalty. But Montoya has also indicated he might be open to a plea agreement if a trial date hasn’t been set by the start of the next district attorney’s term in January 2025.

The Sept. 12 hearing is a scheduling conference, where defense and prosecutors can propose dates for a series of actions – such as motions filings – leading to a court date and the start of jury selection.

Medrano also had a scheduling conference in September 2023, but no schedule emerged after defense attorneys said they were still sifting through millions of pages of potential evidence turned over by prosecutors earlier that year.

The most recent hearing came in February, where prosecutors and defense lawyers continued to argue over the exchange of evidence.

The Sept. 12 hearing could be the first time in almost five years that the public can see the Walmart gunman through media video and still photos. The media has not been allowed to photograph Crusius since his last appearance in state court in October 2019. Cameras are not allowed in federal courtrooms, where Crusius appeared several times last year.

Medrano generally has allowed media photography in his court for hearings related to the Walmart shooting, although cameras have not been allowed in the last two hearings.

The 2019 mass shooting was one of the deadliest domestic terrorism attacks in U.S. history. In a screed published online just before the shooting, Crusius said he was trying to stop “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Since the shooting, conservative media and politicians have expanded the use of the word “invasion” to describe unauthorized immigration, despite warnings that the language is inaccurate and could lead to further violence.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
July 11, 2024

El Paso’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention want President Joe Biden to continue his re-election bid, despite criticism over his debate performance last month.

“President Biden has demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to addressing critical issues facing our nation, making him a solid choice for the 2024 nomination,” El Paso County’s eight elected delegates said in a statement responding to questions from El Paso Matters.

Eight El Pasoans elected through the Democratic Party process are delegates for the Democratic National Convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, where the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates will be formally nominated. They are county Democratic Chair Michael Apodaca, County Commissioner David Stout, former city Rep. Alexsandra Annello, Yvonne “Bonnie” Daniels, Alicia De Jong Davis, Javier Aaron Paz, Dr. Jack Heydemann and Craig Sterrette.

El Paso Matters reached out individually to the delegates, who decided to respond with a group statement, Apodaca said.

Two El Pasoans are so-called superdelegates to the convention – U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, because she’s a member of Congress; and state Sen. César Blanco, who is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Escobar also is one of Biden’s seven campaign co-chairs, and she has remained steadfast in her support for the president.

Blanco expressed strong support for Biden continuing as the party’s nominee. 

“The choice is clear: democracy or dictatorship. One poor debate performance doesn't erase Trump's extensive criminal record and threat to democracy, nor does it negate President Biden's accomplishments, lifelong service, and ability to govern effectively,” Blanco said in a statement to El Paso Matters. “We must follow Biden's example and run toward the fight, not from it. If we want to guarantee Trump never returns to the Oval Office, Democrats need to get in the fight or get out of the way.” 

Biden won 84% of the El Paso County vote in the March 5 Democratic primary, and 67% in the 2020 general election.

His heavily criticized performance at the June 27 presidential debate against Trump alarmed many Democrats, with some calling for him to abandon his re-election bid and allow the party to nominate someone else. Biden has vowed to continue his re-election campaign.

If Biden were to step aside, the convention delegates – almost all of whom are currently committed to the president – would select a new nominee. But the El Paso delegates wouldn’t even discuss other potential candidates.

“President Biden has made a solidly clear stance that he will not be stepping down as the Democratic nominee in 2024. That is who we are standing firmly alongside to defeat Donald Trump and continue our mission to give the middle class some breathing room by cutting everyday costs like child and health care, forgiving student loan debt, and restoring the freedoms that MAGA Republicans have stripped from us,” their statement said.

Although most national and swing state polls have shown Trump slightly widening his lead over Biden since the debate, the El Paso delegates say they believe the incumbent can still prevail over the former president he defeated in 2020.

“Voters remember all too well what life was like under Trump's administration, and here in El Paso, we are prepared to send a message that MAGA extremism is not welcome here, as we have endured the results of Trump's hatred and racism enough,” their statement said.

The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7. Early voting runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
July 11, 2024

The El Paso City Council on Tuesday will discuss whether to allow voters to decide the fate of the long-embattled $180 million Downtown arena – the last signature bond project approved by voters in 2012 that has yet to be built.

City Reps. Chris Canales, Art Fierro and Brian Kennedy have co-authored an item that, if approved by the City Council, would allow voters in the Nov. 5 general election to decide whether the city should scrap the multipurpose performing arts and entertainment center approved by voters 12 years ago.

If council approves the item, the city attorney and interim city manager would draft language for an ordinance that includes whether the city would “defease or redeem” all or a portion of the outstanding bonds issued to fund the multipurpose center so far.

The city documents for Tuesday’s meeting do not indicate how much bond money has not been issued. City officials have previously said there is still $153 million remaining in the budget for the Downtown arena.

El Paso businessman Leonard “Tripper” Goodman, who led the El Paso Tomorrow PAC that helped get the 2012 bond passed, on Thursday told El Paso Matters that he believed revoking the bonds sets a bad precedent for future projects.

“In my opinion, the problem was that some people didn’t see it through when they could and should have,” Goodman said about elected officials and other city leaders who didn’t support the project. “It sets a bad precedent to go to the voters and say, sorry, it didn’t come through so now we’re just not going to do it.”

The City Council has been largely silent on the multipurpose center since a proposal to move the site to Union Depot and develop it as an 8,000-seat indoor/outdoor amphitheater was presented in February.

The City Council delayed, then deleted the item altogether, leaving the decision in limbo.

Earlier this month, Kennedy, Canales and Fierro, alongside Northeast city Rep. Joe Molinar, approved $31 million in incentives for a 12,500-seat amphitheater in Northeast El Paso. The deal with Venu, a private entertainment venue developer, included an agreement that the city would not develop any new city-owned entertainment venues within 60 miles of the amphitheater – with the exception of voter-approved projects such as the Downtown arena.

The multipurpose center had been embroiled in controversy since the first site was selected in 2016 in the Duranguito neighborhood in the Union Plaza district in Downtown. A lengthy legal battle ensued to protect the neighborhood until the litigation was resolved last year after the city voted to scrap the site as part of an agreement to end the lawsuits.

The initial multipurpose center called for an arena-style facility with a 15,000-seat capacity.

Read More: Key things to know about the Downtown arena project

“I think that what the voters voted on was never possible at the price they were told and I'm not willing to start pouring more money into a project that was over promised and would be under delivered,” said Kennedy, who on Thursday became a candidate for mayor in the November election. “I think that, at this point, we need to go back to the voters and say, here's what we can build with the money we have, or should we just go back to the drawing board and maybe start a new plan.”

Kennedy said the news release issued by Canales’ office had nothing to do with the timing of his bid for mayor.

Canales could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, but in a news release from his office announcing the agenda item said voters have been waiting 12 years “for some resolution on the MPC project, and after so much time they should have their voices heard again at the ballot box.”

“The reality now, in 2024, is that there is nowhere near the amount of funding required to deliver an ‘arena,’” he states in the release. “A project of that scale would cost something in the range of $400-$500 million, not the $128 million remaining in unsold bonds.”

Fierro said the city has three options: move forward with the multipurpose center with the funds they have, not do any further work on the project and deprogram the bond funds, or to ask voters how they think the city should proceed.

He said he voted for the center in 2012 anticipating the city would build an arena to hold sporting and entertainment events.

“What I didn't know when I voted for it (in the 2012 election) was that it was already under budget, and then never in my wildest dreams – like most other El Pasoans – did I think that 12 years later we’re still sitting here talking about it,” he told El Paso Matters.

Fierro said he has received multiple phone calls from constituents who are not happy with the proposal presented in February that would make the multipurpose center an indoor/outdoor amphitheater at Union Depot.

“That's how I came to my decision about supporting this item on the agenda,” he said.

City and community leaders who were involved in developing the 2012 bond proposals said the issues with the arena lay heavily on the change in city leadership over the years.

Developing the bond proposal 12 years ago

The arena was part of the $473 million bond package split into two proposals: One included parks, recreation and amateur sports facilities such as soccer complexes and competitive pools; and a second included cultural and entertainment facilities such as libraries, museums and a multipurpose center. A third proposal asked for an increase in hotel occupancy taxes to support a Triple-A baseball stadium.

The second proposition that included the multipurpose center was approved by 72% of voters.

Goodman, who led the PAC supporting the 2012 bond issue, said the multipurpose center was part of a larger vision for Downtown El Paso that included the ballpark, a children’s museum, a cultural center and more. Without the entertainment venue, he said, Downton is missing a major piece for redevelopment that would move the city forward.

“It was supposed to be part of the entertainment footprint for Downtown El Paso,” he said. 

“Maybe it’s a political issue, I’m not sure, but the timing feels that way,” Goodman added.

Goodman said that while he agrees the money that’s left of the bond may not be enough for what was planned more than 10 years ago, city leaders since then have not made a good-faith effort to move the project forward.

Joyce Wilson, who was the city manager when the bond issue was approved by voters in 2012, said the council has a legal right to ask voters to revoke the bond. But, she added, voters should consider whether that’s the right step at this time.

“Maybe it’d be better for the community to get some new leadership that could put together a plan and see it through,” Wilson told El Paso Matters, adding that strong leaders form partnerships and have the “courage” to get things done. “If the voters want to undo it, fine, but they should really think about why the leadership wants to do this and do this now.”

El Paso Matters Editor Cindy Ramirez contributed to this story.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
July 9, 2024

University Medical Center of El Paso will ask county commissioners to approve putting a $396.6 million bond on the November ballot, the hospital’s board of managers voted unanimously Tuesday.

The El Paso County Commissioners Court, which oversees the public county hospital, would have to vote whether to place the proposed bond on the Nov. 5 ballot. UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke told El Paso Matters that the bond would go to commissioners for a vote on Aug. 12.

The UMC bond proposal comes as commissioners are considering $295 million in bond projects for the county itself, hearing recommendations from the county Bond Advisory Committee on Tuesday.

Neither UMC CEO Jacob Cintron nor Chief Financial Officer Michael Nuñez were available for comment after the managers meeting Tuesday.

During Tuesday’s UMC Board of Managers meeting, Nuñez said the impact to the average taxpayer would be about $7.95 a month – or about $94 a year at its high point, with a “weighted average” of about $5.54 a month over 30 years of the bond.

In a presentation on addressing community needs, UMC officials listed several projects the bond would fund at the hospital, including new surgical suites, new cardiac catheterization, adding 25 beds to the observation unit and expanding parking. Other projects listed included additional critical care beds, swing beds for inpatient burn care and two new operating rooms. 

The bond would also help expand access to health care outside of the UMC main hospital, including a centrally located geriatric clinic, a health center in Horizon City, an ambulatory surgical center and emergency and urgent care clinic on the Westside, a rehabilitation services addition to the Eastside hospital, and a specialty clinic at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campus next to UMC.

In his quarterly presentation to the Commissioners Court on June 24, Cintron said  UMC has been concerned with capacity constraints the past few years.

“We've had challenges that we've had to address and while we've taken some steps – for example,  the purchase of the surgical hospital and things like that – it doesn't come anywhere near to addressing the needs we have today and in the future,” he said. 

In 2022, UMC proposed issuing $346 million in certificates of obligation – debt that doesn’t require voter approval but is repaid by taxpayer dollars – for a slew of improvements to UMC and the El Paso Children’s Hospital. That effort was stalled after more than 35,000 residents signed a petition asking that the proposal be left up to voters.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
June 28, 2024

As the Fourth of July approaches, El Paso and its surrounding areas are gearing up for a variety of festive celebrations. 

From parades to fireworks displays, residents and visitors have a slew of options to celebrate Independence Day. Revelers are encouraged to check local regulations on fireworks use to ensure a safe holiday experience. 

July Fourth events schedule

• City of Socorro Independence Day Xtravaganza: Gates open at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 29, at Cougar Park, 10664 Socorro Road. Event includes games, rides, food vendors and a fireworks show. Free.
• El Paso Del Norte Lions Club 4th of July East Side People’s Parade: 9 a.m. Thursday, July 4, intersection of Montwood and Lee Treviño drives. Free.
• Rotary Club of West El Paso Independence Day Parade: 9 a.m. Thursday, July 4, intersection of Shadow Mountain Drive and Mesa Street. Free.
• City of Anthony Fourth of July Parade: 9-11 a.m. Thursday, July 4, City Municipal Complex, 820 Highway 478. Free.
• Wet N’ Wild Water World: Park is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, July 4. Fireworks show begins at 9 p.m. Admission costs vary.
• Fourth of July at Ascarate Park: 3-11 p.m. Thursday, July 4, Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive. Fireworks show begins at approximately 9:20 p.m. Parking fee is $5. 
• Pop Goes the Fort: 4 p.m. Thursday, July 4, Biggs Park, 11388 Sergeant Major Blvd., Fort Bliss. Performances by the 1st Armored Division Band and the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Free.
• Western Playland Fireworks Show: Park is open 4-10 p.m. Thursday, July 4. Fireworks show begins at 9 p.m. Admission costs vary. 
• El Paso Chihuahuas:The Chihuahuas host the Albuquerque Isotopes in a Pacific Coast League baseball game at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, July 4, at Southwest University Park. Fireworks show will follow the conclusion of the game.
• Las Cruces Annual Electric Light Parade is at 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, starting at Apodaca Park,  801 E. Madrid Ave., in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 4, Pat and Lou Sisbarro Community Park, 3205 Arrowhead Drive, NMSU campus, with fireworks at 9:45 p.m.

Where is it legal to pop or possess fireworks?  

• City of El Paso: It is illegal to pop any kind of fireworks within the city limits and they are illegal to possess. If caught, fireworks will be confiscated and fines can be up to $2,000.
• County of El Paso: Aerial fireworks that feature “skyrockets with sticks” or “missiles with fins” in any unincorporated areas of the county are banned this year. Some areas of Montana Vista, Fabens and Tornillo, as well as Canutillo and Vinton, are unincorporated.
• Town of Anthony, Texas: Fireworks cannot be popped in the town without a permit. Violators may face a fine of up to $100.
• Town of Clint: Fireworks are illegal in the Town of Clint punishable with a fine of up to $150.
• Town of Horizon City: Fireworks are banned in the Horizon city limits and it is also illegal to possess and store them. Offenders may face misdemeanor charges and a fine of up to $500.
• City of San Elizario: The city applies the same laws as El Paso County. Any violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
• City of Socorro: It is illegal to possess or pop fireworks in any area not designated a safe zone; safe zones or other areas for igniting fireworks may be located within city parks if allowed by the city manager, according to the city ordinance.

Are sparklers safe? Fireworks safety tips

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission encourages the public to leave fireworks to the professionals, stating that eight fireworks-related deaths and some 15,000 injuries were reported in 2023 – 66% of them associated with fireworks misuse in the weeks before and after the July Fourth holiday. That year, firecrackers and sparklers accounted for 42% of emergency-treated injuries, with hands and fingers among the body parts sustaining the most injuries.

But if you plan to light fireworks where they’re legally permitted, the commission offers these safety tips:

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy, in case of fire or other mishap. 
• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area, and only purchase and set off fireworks that are labeled for consumer (not professional) use.
• Never use fireworks while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Additionally, the National Fire Protection Association reminds people that sparklers burn at about 2,000 degrees, enough to melt some metals. Sparklers account for more than 25% of emergency room visits for fireworks injuries, the association reports.

Instead of sparklers, consider safer alternatives, such as glow sticks, confetti poppers or colored streamers.

Keeping your pets safe

Here are some tips from the Humane Society of the United States on keeping your pets safe and calm during Fourth of July celebrations: 

• Leave your pets indoors with a radio or television on to minimize the shock of the loud noises that fireworks may give off.
• If your pet gets anxious around loud noises, talk to your vet for help on medications or to give suggestions on how to alleviate a pet’s anxiety.
• Keep your pets’ collar and nametag on, and get your pet microchipped. Animals may take desperate measures to escape if frightened by loud noises. Name tags and microchips help identify your pet if they get lost.

The El Paso County Animal Welfare department is holding two free microchip events prior to the Fourth of July.

• Noon to 3 p.m. Friday, June 28, Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive
• 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 30, Animal Welfare Department, 9521 Socorro Rd. Ste. B3

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
June 17, 2024

A hearing for a declaratory judgment in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down El Paso’s Annunciation House is set for 10 a.m. Monday, June 17, in Judge Francisco X. Dominguez’s 205th District Court in El Paso.

The hearing will be held virtually and broadcast on the court’s YouTube page. El Paso Matters will bring you full coverage of the hearing as well as a press conference by the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid afterward.

The case stems from the Texas Attorney General’s Office serving Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit network of migrant shelters, with a request to immediately examine its records in February. The AG accuses the organization of human smuggling, which Annunciation House vehemently denies.

Watch the hearing live here:

https://www.youtube.com/@franciscox.dominguez8104/streams

Get caught up with El Paso Matters’ coverage of the case:

Feb. 20: Texas AG Paxton moves to shut down El Paso’s Annunciation House, alleging migrant aid is ‘human smuggling’

Feb. 23: Annunciation House warns Texas AG could target other NGOs for migrant aid

March 7: Judge suggests Paxton has ‘ulterior political motives’ in Annunciation House case

March 11: El Paso judge blocks Texas AG Ken Paxton’s effort to close Annunciation House

April 19: Depositions set for Annunciation House, Texas AG 

May 30: (ProPublica and The Texas Tribune): Texas’ attorney general is increasingly using consumer protection laws to pursue political targets

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Diego Mendoza-Moyers, El Paso Matters
June 6, 2024

With the summer heat well upon El Paso and two days of triple-digit heat in the forecast for this week, here are six things to know about the summer weather El Paso 

How hot has 2024 in El Paso been? 

Since Jan. 1, El Paso’s temperature has averaged 62 degrees, just over 2 degrees hotter than the “normal” – or the 30-year average temperatures that the city experienced between 1991 through 2020. And this May was especially hot in El Paso, where temperatures averaged 79.5 degrees, which was 4 degrees warmer than usual for the month, according to the National Weather Service. The city experienced its first day of 100-degree heat this year May 28. 

Days in May have gotten hotter in El Paso over time, according to NWS data. Between 1903 and 1950, there wasn’t a single day of triple digit heat recorded in El Paso during the month of May. 

And in the century spanning 1900 through 1999, there were 25 days in May that topped 100 degrees in El Paso. Over the last 25 years, however, El Paso has seen 31 days of triple-digit heat during the month of May, according to the NWS.

The intense summer heat has been especially deadly in Texas in recent years. Since 1996, 450 people in Texas have died of heat-related causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But just in 2022 and 2023, there were 109 heat-related fatalities in Texas. 

How dry has it been in El Paso this year?

Very dry, but not unprecedented. El Paso has seen just 0.81 inches of rain this year as of June 3, less than half of the 1.68 inches of rain the city usually receives by this time of year. Even so, El Paso has seen more rainfall so far in 2024 than at this time compared with each of the last two years; the city received 0.8 inches of rain by early June of last year, and 0.7 inches at this time in 2022.  

Throughout all of 2023 – the hottest year on record in El Paso – the city received 4.34 inches of rain, compared with the historical average of about 9 inches of annual precipitation.

So El Paso is in a drought, and it’s hotter here than usual so far this year. What does that mean for the city’s water supply? 

City-owned El Paso Water is likely to maintain a stable supply of water through the summer, regardless of the rainfall the city receives this year. 

The water utility said it expects to receive more water from the Rio Grande – released from Elephant Butte – this year than in any year since 2009, thanks to high levels of snowpack in the mountains near southern Colorado that feed the river. In 2023, the Rio Grande supplied about 12.5 billion gallons of water – 31% of the city’s supply that year. And in 2022, the Rio Grande supplied 6.7 billion gallons, just 17% of the water El Pasoans used amid intense drought that year. 

In 2024, the river may ultimately supply closer to half of the roughly 40 billion gallons that El Paso Water customers will likely use this year. 

The more water El Paso Water can draw from the Rio Grande, the less it has to pump from the Mesilla Bolson aquifer beneath the Westside and from the Hueco Bolson that sits under the Eastside of town. That’s a good thing because the utility doesn’t want to over-pump the region’s vital aquifers.

Still, prolonged drought combined with intense heat can put some stress on El Paso’s water supply. Amid record-setting heat last year, El Paso Water pumped almost 124,000 acre-feet of water compared with the 10-year average usage of about 119,000 acre-feet, a 4% increase in 2023. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons of water.

El Pasoans collectively consume about 110 million gallons of water per day on average. On the hottest summer days, though, water usage across the city can top 162 million gallons as people water their plants more, run water-using evaporative air conditioners or even shower more than once to beat the heat or wash off sweat. El Paso Water says it can pump a maximum of 170 million gallons of groundwater from its system per day, including water produced by the utility’s desalination plant near the airport. 

And El Paso Water is trying to develop what the utility’s executives call a “drought-proof” supply of water. 

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant is a facility unique to El Paso that purifies brackish groundwater pumped from the Hueco Bolson that’s about one-tenth as salty as seawater. El Paso Water is using extra cash from recent rate increases to increase the amount of water the desal plant can produce to 33 million gallons daily from 27.5 million gallons currently. The utility is also building its Advanced Water Purification Plant adjacent to the Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Lower Valley along Southside Road.. The new water purification facility is expected to start operating next year or in 2026, and it will treat wastewater to drinkable standards and produce up to 10 million gallons of potable water per day. 

When will the monsoon rains arrive in El Paso this year? 

Since 1990, El Paso has received an average of 8.89 inches of rainfall  annually. About 5 inches of that rain typically falls between July and September each year. Those late summer monsoons can help the water situation in El Paso by curbing the amount of water that El Pasoans use for outdoor plants, and by cooling the city by a few degrees so that El Paso Water customers don’t have to run their ACs as much. However, the National Weather Service predicts that drought will persist in the El Paso area at least through August, and it expects the city to receive below-average rainfall this summer. In the near-term, the NWS office in El Paso is forecasting two days of triple-digit temperatures this week, followed by a chance of rain here this weekend.

Is climate change causing the hotter summer weather we’re seeing in El Paso? 

Yes, at least partially. Since 1970, the average daily temperature experienced in El Paso from June through August has increased by 5.8 degrees, the third-biggest increase in daily summer heat anywhere in the United States over that time after Boise, Idaho, and Reno, Nevada, according to Climate Central. Thenonprofit research organization studies the link between rising temperatures and human-caused climate change. El Paso last year experienced 47 days that were above “normal,” which refers to the average temperatures recorded locally from 1991 through 2020. Climate Central researchers argue the increase in temperatures in El Paso and across the globe in recent decades has been too intense to be naturally-occuring and is attributable to climate change.

Climate Central said a heat wave that’s set to hit El Paso and much of North America this week – the NWS issued a heat warning here for Wednesday and Thursday – is likely happening because of greenhouse gasses that humans have emitted into the atmosphere. “Hundreds of millions of people will experience heat that was made more likely and more intense by human-caused climate change,” Andrew Pershing, vice president of science at Climate Central, said of the incoming heat spell.  

How can I stay safe this summer? 

The city of El Paso this week will have cooling centers open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at five facilities throughout the city. Cooling centers include the Valle Bajo Community Center in the Lower Valley, the Chalio Acosta Sports Center on the South Side, the Nations Tobin Sports Center in the Northeast, the Marty Robbins Recreation Center on the Eastside and the Galatzan Recreation Center on the Westside. 

In addition to drinking fluids and seeking shade during the hottest times of day – like when your shadow is shorter than you – the American Academy of Dermatology association suggests wearing sunscreen over 30 SPF any time you’re in the sun. And tinted sunscreen that contains iron oxide can help prevent you from developing sun-caused dark spots.

The AAD says the amount of sunscreen adults must apply should fill up a shot glass, because less than one ounce isn’t enough. It takes 15 minutes for sunscreen to absorb into your skin, and people have to reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, and after swimming or sweating. Also, get rid of those old sunscreen bottles in your cabinet: sunscreens only retain their strength for about 3 years.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post 6 things to know about the summer weather in El Paso appeared first on KVIA.

by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
June 5, 2024

Here’s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Celebrate Juneteenth in El Paso

The city of El Paso is hosting lectures, exhibits, performances and other events throughout the month in celebration of Juneteenth, including a family day from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Nations Tobin Park, 8831 Railroad Drive, with live music, jumping balloons and games. Events in the coming days include a talk on the journey to freedom of the Black community aboard the El Paso Streetcar on Friday, June 7; a lecture series at various El Paso Public Library branches; and a hands-on workshop Saturday, June 8, exploring the themes of Vanessa German’s work, “Black Girl on Skateboard,” now on display at the El Paso Museum of Art. For a full list of events, visit Juneteenth in El Paso.

Juneteenth Cultural Celebration

The second annual Juneteenth Cultural Celebration Gala on Saturday, June 8, will honor “Black excellence and promote inclusion within our community,” the Great Khalid Foundation said in a news release. The event is being hosted by the foundation, a nonprofit founded by El Paso R&B singer Khalid, and the YWCA El Paso del Norte Region. The celebration includes music and dance performances, an art display, Southern food, Juneteenth cocktails, and dancing starting at 8 p.m. at the Plaza Theatre in Downtown. Doors open at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit social equity programs for youth by both organizations. Information: Great Khalid Foundation.

Día del Niño at Mi Casa Gallery

Children ages 4 to 12 can learn about Chicano art and portraits, and create their own self-portrait during a Children’s Day/Día del Niño workshop at Mi Casa Gallery in the Gaspar Enriquez Cultural Center on Saturday. Children will also make a journal and vision board for the upcoming school year. The event is part of San Eli Saturdays and Fine Arts Family Day by the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts. Refreshments, snacks and music are included in the event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 1456 Main St., in San Elizario. Renowned El Paso artist Gaspar Enriquez last fall partnered with the Rubin Center and the Paso del Norte Community Foundation to open the cultural center. Information: Rubin Center.

Hear Me Roar: Pride Night at the Zoo

The El Paso Zoo and Sun City Pride are hosting “Hear Me Roar: Pride Night at the Zoo” from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the zoo, 4001 E. Paisano Drive. The all-ages event will be held after regular hours and will include music, entertainment and drinks. The carousel and animal displays will be open to attendees. Tickets are $8 for children; $10 for adults. The El Paso Pride Parade celebrating LGBTQIA+ stage and screen is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, June 29, in Downtown, followed by a picnic at Houston Park, 900 Montana Ave. Pride Ride with the cycling group Critical Mass El Paso will take place at 7 a.m. Friday, June 28, starting at San Jacinto Plaza Downtown. Information: El Paso Pride.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Celebrate Juneteenth, Pride Month in El Paso; plus Children’s Day in San Elizario gallery appeared first on KVIA.

by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
June 7, 2024

The Socorro school board voted Thursday not to give teachers and staff raises for the 2024-25 school year and to require employees to pay for more of their health care costs to combat the district’s ongoing financial crisis.

“The recommendations and decisions for these actions were not taken lightly, nor taken without much deliberation, but were made in an effort to alleviate our budget and propel the district to a better financial situation,” Socorro ISD’s acting superintendent James Vasquez said in a letter sent to employees on Friday.

This comes as the district is dealing with a $33 million deficit for this school year, an expected $41 million for next year and is being overseen by two conservators from the Texas Education Agency as it also searches for a new superintendent. Adding to the turmoil is the recent arrests of two of its trustees — Pablo Barrera and Ricardo Castellano — on charges related to their official duties. 

The board is expected to hold a public comment period and approve the budget on June 19.

The changes to the health plan would ultimately cut SISD’s employee's take-home pay starting January 2025, when the new rate goes into effect.

The board voted 5-2 to reduce the district’s employee's health fund contribution by $20, changing it from $575 to $555 a month. Employees will now pay the $20 difference. Barrera and Castellano voted against the motion.

In a letter sent to teachers and staff, Vasquez said the reduction was “much less than the $150 per employee previously considered.”

Texas law requires employers like school districts to contribute at least $225 a month to their employees’ health care plans — this includes a $75 contribution from the state and $150 from the district.

Director of Human Resources Mario Carmona said the change could cause some employee’s premiums to go up by more than $20 a month depending on their health plan.

“There's going to be an offset,” Carmona said. “We're going to need to make additional adjustments to be able to level that you know the minimum and maximum (cost). Our goal is to be able to have that information ready for the June 19 board meeting.”

The board also voted unanimously not to give raises or stipends to any of its employees during the 2024-25 school year, which starts in August.

Socorro American Federation of Teachers President Veronica Hernandez said the move seems like a pay cut to many employees.

“I think it was drastic and I think it was wrong for them to make it punitive on the employees which have no control over how they mishandled funds,” Hernandez told El Paso Matters. “Our teachers continue to do an excellent job and to not give them a raise and to deduct contributions from their health plan is kicking them while they’re down.”

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post SISD school board votes no on raises; reduces health plan contributions appeared first on KVIA.

by Molly Smith, El Paso Matters
December 22, 2022

Editor’s note: This story contains explicit language.

The late-night phone call between two Socorro school board members to rehash the evening’s board meeting started out with an innocuous question: would Ricardo "Richard" Castellano be joining Pablo Barrera on a podcast?

Castellano said he’d be late. He’d be coming from a meeting with the interim superintendent, where he planned to discuss the principal of the school where his wife Gabriela taught third grade.

“I’m going to talk to (interim superintendent Marta) Carmona about this principal here thinking she’s all badass. I’m about to clip her wings,” Castellano says.

“La vas a bajar del avión? You’re going to get her off her high plane?” Barrera asks.

“Yeah, I mean she wants to write me up. Go ahead. Go ahead, bitch. Well, she sent it to my wife. My wife got written up,” Castellano responds.

Their entire Aug. 10, 2021, conversation -- and nearly the entire day leading up to it and the day after -- was captured by a recording device or application on Gabriela Castellano’s phone. The disgruntled teacher subsequently emailed the recording she made to the Socorro Independent School District’s interim human resources director on Aug. 30, 2021, as part of a grievance against the Bill Sybert School principal and assistant principal.

Socorro ISD has sought to keep the recording from being made public, going so far as to file an improper reconsideration request with the Texas Attorney General’s office after the office ruled in August 2022 that the recording had to be released in response to a public records request from El Paso Matters.

The recording captures trustees engaging in crude behavior in the privacy of their homes. Castellano’s words also reflect the school board member overstepping his role and abusing his authority.

The 33-hour long audio file was damning enough that its discovery in fall 2021 prompted a Texas Rangers investigation into Castellano for official oppression, a misdemeanor offense that elected officials can be charged with if they use their office to unlawfully punish others or impede their rights.

The investigation remains “active and ongoing,” the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed on Dec. 14.

Ricardo and Gabriela Castellano did not respond to multiple interview requests. Barrera also did not make himself available for an interview, despite repeated requests.

Winning elections, and shifting power

Ricardo Castellano narrowly unseated longtime Trustee Angelica Rodriguez in the May 2021 school board election. Rodriguez had held the District 3 seat for more than a decade, and was part of a majority faction that enjoyed consecutive years of control.

The balance of power changed in 2021 when Castellano and Barrera ousted two incumbents -- by the razor-thin margins of 23 and 24 votes, respectively. The newly elected trustees sided with Trustees David Morales and Eduardo "Eddie" Mena, who were elected the year prior, to form a new majority on the seven-member board that was critical of the superintendent and members of his leadership team.

Days after the election, longtime Superintendent José Espinoza resigned rather than face the prospect of working with an increasingly hostile board.

In the recording, both Castellano and Barrera appear to be buoyed by the impact their victory was having on the district.

“We beat the odds, man, you and me,” Castellano tells Barrera. “We’re gods right now.”

“We’re school board gods,” Barrera replies.

The audio recording reveals that Castellano was already unsatisfied with Interim Superintendent Marta Carmona, in place for less than two months, and whose appointment he and Barrera opposed. Though the superintendent and the internal auditors are the only employees SISD trustees directly oversee, Castellano’s focus was on ousting select administrators, including his wife’s campus principal, Gabriela Elliott.

“We got an idiot there,” Castellano says of Carmona, as he and Barrera discuss the Aug. 10, 2021, school board meeting, which had wrapped up hours earlier. They had hoped the board would adopt a face mask mandate; instead, trustees took no action and Carmona said she would not issue such a policy herself despite a handful of other Texas superintendents having done so. (The SISD Board of Trustees later adopted a mask mandate on Aug. 18.)

“Well, I’m going to see tomorrow how she acts with this Elliott deal, you know when I bring everything up about this principal. See what she does,” Castellano continues. “… if she doubles down and protects her, then I’m saying, ‘fine, there’s no need for me to go to you anymore when things happen in the district because you’re not taking action and I’ll just do what I have to do.’”

“I’ll take care of Elliott tomorrow; put her in her place,” he later vows.

Carmona and Elliott declined to be interviewed for this story.

Carmona left the district for El Paso ISD in August 2022. Elliott served as principal of Bill Sybert K-8 School from 2016 through June 2022, when she became principal of Socorro Middle School.

Mena, the current board president, spoke highly of Elliott in an interview with El Paso Matters.

“Mrs. Elliott was a great principal at Bill Sybert -- an award-winning principal with a lot of accolades and recommendations and awards,” he said. “She’s a great principal considering all the stuff that she was going through with Mr. Castellano constantly being there (at the campus) with his wife while she was teaching.”

Emailing a grievance -- and a recording

At 9:52 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2021, Gabriela Castellano emailed SISD Interim Human Resources Director Thomas Redlinger the audio file as part of a grievance against her campus principal and assistant principal who she accused of “targeting and excluding” her for months.

Gabriela Castellano was incensed about the Aug. 10 meeting Elliott and Assistant Principal Lorenza Gonzalez had with her to discuss two of Ricardo Castellano’s recent visits to her classroom during what Elliott said was “the instructional day.”

Gabriela Castellano appears to have turned on her recorder at the start of the Aug. 10 meeting; when she intended to stop it is unclear. In its communication with the Texas attorney general, the district wrote that the recording “appears to have been made by mistake and inadvertently disclosed to the district.”

“In the future, if you’re going to have any guests, please get authorization prior to because it’s during instructional time. … Instructional time is super valued,” Elliott says in the recording.

“We’re not nitpicking on me, right, because my husband’s a board trustee, right?” Castellano retorts, adding: “To me, this is nothing serious. Not an offense. Everybody’s husbands and boyfriends come in.”

Elliott maintains that she won’t discuss other employees, but says she would have the same conversation with anyone else who was bringing guests in through the back doors without having them sign in at the front desk.An Aug. 10, 2021, meeting between Bill Sybert School Principal Gabriela Elliott, Assistant Principal Lorenza Gonzalez and teacher Gabriela Castellano, which Castellano recorded on her phone and later sent to SISD as part of a grievance.

A 2016 internal investigation conducted at one of Castellano’s previous campuses, Lujan-Chavez Elementary School, revealed that multiple employees perceived her behavior to be “creating an environment of intimidation, and fear of retaliation or grievance.”

“One former principal left because she could not deal with Mrs. Castellano anymore,” an anonymous employee is quoted in the investigation report as telling Carmona, who was the internal auditor for curriculum and instruction at that time. SISD released the report to El Paso Matters in response to a public records request.

“There’s one teacher who causes a lot of problems with other teachers. Her redacted comes in with a lot of authority,” reads another quote, which notes that the redacted individual “is a police officer and comes in with his gun.”

At the time of this investigation, Ricardo Castellano was employed with the El Paso Police Department as a lieutenant. He retired from the department in August 2018, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.A conversation between SISD Trustee Ricardo "Richard" Castellano and his wife Gabriela on their drive home from the Aug. 10, 2021, board meeting.

Gabriela Castellano was reassigned from Bill Sybert School to James P. Butler Elementary sometime after being placed on administrative leave on March 9, 2022. That was the day that the Texas Rangers were seen at Bill Sybert, KFOX-Channel 14 reported.

The agency is investigating Gabriela Castellano for stalking, according to the heavily redacted investigative report the Rangers released to El Paso Matters in response to a public records request. The Texas Penal Code defines stalking as when a person, “on more than one occasion,” knowingly threatens someone such that a “reasonable person” would feel “harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended.”

SISD declined to answer whether Castellano has shown up for work since being reassigned, saying it “does not publicly comment on confidential personnel matters.” However, she remains employed, the district’s spokesperson confirmed.

A trustee stepping out of bounds

It’s unknown what Ricardo Castellano asked of Carmona when he spoke with her on Aug. 11, 2021. But after he gets home from a meeting at the district, he tells his wife and two adult children, “They’re going to wind up moving her boss.”

“You’re my hero,” Gabriela Castellano cackles.

“I don’t have a timeline, but it’s going to be soon,” Ricardo Castellano says. (Elliott, however, remained principal of Bill Sybert School throughout the entirety of Carmona’s tenure.)

Attempting to influence someone’s hiring, firing or employment status “very clearly is out of bounds in terms of what I train board members to do,” said Thomas Alsbury, a professor of educational leadership at Northwest University who has consulted for school boards and state school board associations nationwide. Such behavior would constitute trustee micromanagement and overreach into the district’s operations, which is the superintendent’s job.

A trustee’s role, Alsbury said, “is to monitor the progress on strategic goals, not to monitor or try to control the processes or operational ends of the organization.”

Both SISD Board President Mena and Superintendent Nate Carman agreed that it would be inappropriate for a trustee to direct the superintendent on how to handle a personnel issue.

“It is not their job to initiate any type of proposed personnel action,” said Carman, who the board hired on March 14, 2022. Trustees can only vote for or against recommendations that the superintendent brings to them for hiring, terminating or non-renewing an employee’s contract. In SISD, trustees are tasked with approving all hiring decisions for assistant principal positions and above.

Asked how much he considers a trustee’s personal opinion before presenting them a hiring recommendation, Carman responded “zero.” “We base our recommendation on their (the applicant’s) qualifications, their experience and how they present themselves in the interview,” he said.

Trustees frequently receive calls from parents, teachers and employees, Mena said. They in turn can ask the superintendent or an auditor to look into the concern; beyond that, trustees have no purview over the subsequent course of action the district takes.

Carman was adamant that trustees should not bring any concerns to him that involve their spouse or another family member in order to avoid violating the district’s nepotism policy. Instead, he said their relatives should go through the standard employee grievance process.

Mena was blunt in his assessment of what a trustee should do if faced with a concern from their spouse: “Stay away from that. … I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole.”

At present, Castellano and Trustee Paul Guerra are the only members of the SISD Board of Trustees whose spouses work for the district (both are teachers). The Texas Government Code allows relatives of school employees to run for trustee positions, though it generally prohibits a relative from being hired after a trustee is elected.

Alsbury believes that the law should go further and should prohibit an individual from serving as a trustee if their spouse is a current employee.

“I think there’s conflict of interest in many, perhaps even most of the decisions that a board member would make if they have a spouse,” Alsbury said. “Obviously they’re negotiating contracts and salary, which would affect not only their spouse but them.”

He pointed to budgetary, facilities, curriculum and employee disciplinary decisions as other areas that could create -- or at least give the perception of -- a conflict of interest.

‘You would hope our trustees would not talk like that’

Carman, the current Socorro superintendent, said he has only listened to the section of the recording that captured the phone call between Ricardo and Gabriela Castellano and Barrera. Their conversation about the principal and the interim superintendent was “concerning,” Carman said, highlighting Ricardo Castellano’s mention of how he would “clip” the principal’s “wings.”

“They should not be discussing individual employees in that manner,” Carman said, later adding: “You would hope our trustees would not talk like that about our employees.”An Aug. 10, 2021, phone conversation between SISD Trustees Ricardo "Richard" Castellano and Pablo Barrera.

Yet during the call, Castellano tells Barrera that a longtime SISD administrator “could die of COVID, who cares. The world would not miss her. She’s fucked up. This district is messed up, man. It’s all messed up.”

Barrera calls a separate administrator an “oompa loompa.” Earlier in the recording, Castellano referred to that same person as a “fat fuck” in a conversation with his wife.

The trustees also discuss certain people who they would like to fill open positions, with Barrera mentioning that someone is going to get him a list of “names to look out for if they put in for the assistant superintendent spot,” which include another administrator’s “minions.”

“It’s just all negativity to me,” Mena said of the portions of the call he has heard. The law firm representing the district made the recording available to all seven trustees on Dec. 9, the same day it released it to El Paso Matters.

“I don’t think I heard not one positive remark from those people, and I’m sorry to say that,” Mena continued. “It’s embarrassing for them.”

Trustee David Morales, who was board president at the time of the recording, declined to comment.

Socorro Education Association President Angie Soto received the recording as part of a separate records request that she filed in order to support union members who told her they were being bullied and harassed by Gabriela Castellano.

“I told my members that I would proceed with this (request) so that they would not experience any retaliation if they spoke out against this board member and his wife,” said Soto, who taught in SISD for 28 years before retiring in 2015 to lead the union, which counts approximately 800 members.

Soto said she has no intent of publicly releasing the audio, despite claims Gabriela Castellano has posted to her personal Facebook account attacking Soto.

“We are now animals in a circus rink. We have been dehumanized by those who feel entitled to RAPING our privacy,” Castellano wrote in a Dec. 12 post about the potential publication of the recording. In her social media post, Castellano does not mention that she was the one who recorded the conversation and sent it to the school district.

Soto expressed disappointment over the parts of the audio that she has listened to.

“We have expectations that our board members will be professional, treat each other with respect and understand what role each person plays,” she said.

The Socorro Education Association did not endorse Castellano or Barrera in the May 2021 election.

Texas Rangers become involved

The Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the Texas Department of Public Safety, was made aware of Gabriela Castellano’s audio recording in October 2021, according to Jose Castorena, the former chief of the SISD Police Department. Castorena was fired in August 2022, which he alleges was retaliation for his involvement in the Rangers’ investigation -- a claim the superintendent denies, citing alleged policy violations by the chief.

Castorena told El Paso Matters that the police department discovered the recording after Carmona brought him emails to “review for a possible criminal matter.” Castorena said he immediately looped in the Texas Rangers given the possible conflict of interest from the involvement of a trustee and the interim superintendent.

The Rangers took the lead, while the district police department assisted with interviewing witnesses, Castorena said. At some point, the Rangers “presented the information received to the District Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office, at that time, agreed there was enough to continue with an investigation.”

A DPS report notes that the DA’s Office on March 8, 2022, assigned Texas Ranger Juan Torrez to open an investigation into allegations of stalking by Gabriela Castellano and allegations of official oppression by Ricardo Castellano.

DA’s Office spokesperson Paul Ferris directed El Paso Matters to the El Paso County Attorney’s Office for comment, saying that office was “overseeing the case.” County Attorney’s Office spokesperson Elhiu Dominguez said he could not confirm or deny whether the office is looking at a specific case.

As of Dec. 14, the Rangers’ investigation is “active and ongoing,” according to DPS.

SISD police’s involvement ended after Carman was hired, Castorena said, as the new superintendent issued a directive to the department to stop assisting the Texas Rangers.

The former chief, who described being “appalled” by parts of the recording, said his hope is “that the law supports the people affected by this situation … (so) the district is able to move forward and those affected find closure.”

The recording has also been turned over to the Texas Education Agency as part of the agency’s open investigation into the district, said Carman. That investigation started in winter 2020 in response to an internal audit by the district that discovered that 29 high school students had graduated the prior spring despite not being cleared to do so.

The TEA investigation remains “active,” Carman said. The investigation has “broadened” beyond its initial scope as a result of information trustees have provided the agency, he noted.

Asked what has been his response to the release of the recording, the superintendent said it will ultimately be up to the board to decide how to proceed.

“I don’t have the authority to direct or remove a trustee, of course, so the board will have to self govern and decide -- once they’ve all had a chance to hear it -- what, if any, action they would take,” Carman said.

“We still have to do business together,” Mena said. “We have to work together and approve items on the agenda and the budget. It’s just something that we have to deal with.”

Update 1:17 p.m., Dec. 22: This story was updated to correct a Spanish language quote from Pablo Barrera.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Audio captures SISD trustee abusing role in effort to target principal appeared first on KVIA.

by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
May 10, 2024

Socorro Independent School District trustees Pablo Barrera and Ricardo “Richard’ Castellano, and his wife Gabriela Castellano, allegedly targeted district employees at schools where they had personal connections, according to indictments released Friday.

Ricardo Castellano, 61, and Gabriela Castellano, 57, were indicted on two counts each of obstruction or retaliation involving Gabriela Elliott, a former principal at Bill Sybert School, where Gabriela Castellano was a third-grade teacher, according to an indictment filed April 25 to the El Paso County District Clerk. 

Their scheme against Elliott began on Aug. 21, 2021, and continued until March 30, 2022, according to the indictments. No specific actions are mentioned in the indictment, but El Paso Matters in 2022 obtained an audio recording that showed the Castellanos trying to have Elliott removed as principal.

In the recording, Barrera boasted that he and Ricardo Castellano were “school board gods.”

The Castellanos were arrested Thursday and released on $4,000 bond. The charges are a third-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It wasn’t immediately clear why the arrests came two weeks after the indictment.

Barrera, 39, was indicted April 25 on eight counts alleging illegal actions against Hueco Elementary School Principal Greg Hatch and his boss,Socorro ISD Assistant Superintendent Melissa Parham, in 2022 and 2023.

Barrera’s child is a student at Hueco Elementary. 

He was arrested Thursday and released on bonds totaling $6,000.

Mary Stillinger, an attorney who has represented the Castellanos and Barrera, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. She has said in the past that all three look forward to clearing their names.

Barrera was indicted on four counts of obstruction or retaliation, the same felony charge brought against the Castellanos.

He also faces two counts of official oppression, and one count each of coercion of a public servant or voter and improper influence. Those four charges are all Class A misdemeanors, which carry a penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

The indictments charging obstruction or retaliation and coercion accuse Barrera of retaliating against Hatch and impeding his ability to lead the school between July 1, 2022, and Sept. 15, 2023. One of the official oppression charges alleges he illegally attempted to influence Hatch at an official proceeding on May 30, 2022.

The improper influence charge and one of the official oppression charges allege that Barrera attempted to illegally influence Parham – who oversaw Socorro ISD’s elementary schools – during an official proceeding on May 30, 2022.

Barrera Castellano indictmentsDownload

The indictments against Barrera don’t provide details of his alleged illegal activities.

The indictments came as a result of investigations by the Texas Rangers. Texas Rangers are often tasked with investigating misconduct and corruption of public officials, according to the DPS website.

Barrera and Ricardo Castellano remain members of the Socorro ISD Board of Trustees, spokesman Daniel Escobar said.

Neither the district nor the school board have the authority to remove a trustee from elected office, a Texas Association of School Boards spokesperson told El Paso Matters.

“A judge could decide to remove a board member but only at the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. It’s important to remember due process and the fundamental principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Texas school board members cannot be recalled from office by voters.

Barrera and Ricardo Castellano are both retired law enforcement officers -- Barrera from Border Patrol and Castellano from El Paso Police Department.

Recordings of plans to oust a principal

At the time Gabriela Castellano worked at Bill Sybert School, she recorded conversations with her husband and Barrera on Aug. 10, 2021, in which they discussed plans to have Elliott removed as principal of the school.

She emailed the 33-hour audio recording on Aug. 30, 2021, to Socorro’s ISD interim human resources director as part of her grievance against Eliott and a school assistant principal. The recording began with a conversation between Elliott and Gabriela Castellano, then continued into the next day.

In a conversation recorded by Gabriela Castellano after a school board meeting on Aug. 10, 2021, Ricardo Castellano vowed to go to Interim Superintendent Marta Carmona to get Elliott removed as principal of Bill Sybert School.

“Maybe I should just file a grievance against that bitch, and she can give me the write-up there at the grievance,” Gabriela Castellano said.

“Well, I'll get with Carmona. If she likes, double downs, protects Elliott, then we'll (cross talk). If not, let … See if she'll move her. You know what? Her time has come and gone. She's a tyrant,” Ricardo Castellano replied.

El Paso Matters obtained a copy of the recording in December 2022, after the school district resisted releasing it for months, even after the Texas Attorney General’s Office ruled that it had to be made public.

Conversation between Ricardo and Gabriela CastellanoDownload

Gabriela Castellano also recorded a phone conversation between her husband and Barrera, where they discussed Elliott.

“I’m going to talk to Carmona about this principal here thinking she’s all badass. I’m about to clip her wings,” Ricardo Castellano said.

“La vas a bajar del avión? You’re going to get her off her high plane?” Barrera asks.

Elliott continued as principal of Bill Sybert School through the end of the 2021-22 school year, when she became principal at Socorro Middle School. She currently is the principal of Eastlake Middle School in Socorro ISD.

Gabriela Castellano was placed on administrative leave in March 2022 and reassigned to James P. Butler Elementary. She most recently has been a PK-8 reading interventionist at Bobby Joe Hill PK-8 School In El Paso ISD. Her status with EPISD wasn’t immediately clear Friday.

Texas Education Agency investigations

The Texas Education Agency had received several complaints alleging inappropriate behavior by Barrera and the Castellanos during a three-year investigation that ended when the district agreed in March to accept the appointment of state conservators to help oversee the district. 

The complaints against Barrera and the Castellanos were not mentioned in the investigative report, but were included in an appendix. The investigations into complaints mentioned in the appendix ended when the school board voted to accept the appointment of conservators.

TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky said the conservators, Michael Hinojosa and Andrew Kim, were aware of the arrests. He said the arrests don’t change the additional state oversight of Socorro ISD “at this time.”

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Indictments: 2 Socorro ISD board members targeted district employees   appeared first on KVIA.

by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
May 8, 2024

Here’s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Cool Canyon Nights Music Series

The 2024 season of Cool Canyon Nights kicks off on Thursday, May 9, at the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater with Mariachi Los Arrieros on the main stage. Other performers this year include Sonora Skandalo, Jim Ward and Fungi Mungle.

The series runs every Thursday through Aug. 1 at the canyon, 1 McKelligon Canyon off Alabama Street. Performances begin at 6 p.m. on the El Paso Community College CTE Patio Stage, followed at 7 p.m. with the main act in the amphitheater. Admission is free, but seating is limited. 

Music schedule:

• May 9: Mariachi Los Arrieros, main stage / Tony Ramirez, patio stage.
• May 16: Dusty Low / Josh Marin
• May 23: Prime Rocks / The Locomotion Style Band
• May 30: Rocketman Experience: Tom’s Elton Tribute / The Retroz
• June 6: Azucar / Abraham Marinelarena
• June 13: Electric Dave Orchestra / Daniel Villasenor
• June 20: Sonora Skandalo / Aura
• June 27: Jim Ward / Ray Arreola
• July 11: Jezzika y Los Amores Prohibidos Tribute to Selena / Gabrielle Torres
• July 18: The Roulettes / Joshua Lucero & Midnight Vibe
• July 25: Celebration / Stellar
• Aug. 1: Fungi Mungle / Sam Barlow

Information: Cool Canyon Nights

Mexican American Cultural Center Meet and Greet

The Mexican American Cultural Center will host a meet-and-greet for the public to learn about the center set to open later this year. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe St. The public can share suggestions on programming for the center with staff.

The $25.3 million MAAC is part of the $473 million bond approved by voters in 2012 and aims to celebrate the border culture and history of Mexican Americans. The MAAC is under construction at the El Paso Main Library in Downtown.

Information: MACC on Facebook and Instagram

New Name: El Fresco Music Series

Formerly the Al Fresco! Fridays, the local concert series at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center Plaza in Downtown is now the El Fresco Music Series. The series has been condensed to be held only once a month.

The outdoor concerts kick off Friday, May 10, and run through August, featuring local artists representing different genres and themes. The concerts are from 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is free.

•  May 10: Latin Music Night
• June 14: Funk Night
• July 19: Country Music Night
• August 9: Rock Night

Information: El Paso Live

Juried UTEP Student Art Exhibition

The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at UTEP is holding an opening ceremony for its annual Juried Student Art Exhibition from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10. The event is at the center at the University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave.

The exhibit features art and design by undergraduate students in the Department of Art in various mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, metals, printmaking and graphic design. The exhibit is on display through July 11. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Information: Rubin Center

Other Area Events:

El Paso Matters Book Club: The moderated discussion with baseball announcer and author Tim Hagerty about his book “Tales from the Dugout” is at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Clardy Fox Library, 5515 Robert Alva Ave. The event is free and open to the public. Information: El Paso Matters Book Club.

State Line Music Series: The music series is in full swing at the State Line, 1222 Sunland Park Dr., on Wednesdays now through July 31. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Information: The State Line

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Former Socorro Independent School District Superintendent Nate Carman will no longer take over as leader of an Arizona school district after the school board there rescinded the offer on Wednesday.

The board of the Higley Unified School District outside of Phoenix voted unanimously to rescind its employment agreement with Carman. 

“During the superintendent hiring process that we recently went through, applicants were asked to provide true, correct, and complete applications, including disclosing ongoing reviews of possible misconduct. They were specifically asked to explain any current or past situations that might impact their application,” Higley USD Governing Board President Michelle Anderson said in a statement from the board before the vote. 

“The candidates were notified that misrepresenting or omitting facts could result in rejection of or dismissal from employment. Dr. Carman failed to disclose material facts during the hiring process. The search firm we used also failed to bring these facts to our attention. Had Dr. Carman provided us with correct and complete information, we would have made a different decision. In our view, his actions constitute just cause to rescind the employment agreement,” Anderson said.

This comes more than a month after Carman was placed on administrative leave from Socorro ISD after an external forensics audit found he awarded contracts to a company he had previously done business with before joining the district, posing a conflict of interest.

Carman has denied wrongdoing.

Carman was selected to become superintendent of the Higley Unified School District in February and was set to start the new job in June.

Socorro ISD started searching for a permanent replacement for Carman on April 24 after trustees voted unanimously to hire the Texas Association of School Boards to help the district find a new superintendent. TASB is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance and training to Texas school boards.

The Socorro ISD board on April 8 appointed Deputy Superintendent James Vasquez as acting superintendent while the district works to find a permanent leader.

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by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
April 15, 2024

Christina Sanchez, who was effectively elected as El Paso County attorney in March, will take the position seven months early.

The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday unanimously accepted the resignation of longtime County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal, effective June 7. The court also unanimously approved directing staff to prepare an item to appoint Sanchez to fulfill the remainder of the term through Dec. 31. No date for the official appointment has been set.

“For personal and family reasons, it’s important for me to take an early exit,” Bernal told El Paso Matters after Monday’s meeting. “Working with Christina for 15 years – and since the election, working intensely through the transition – I feel very confident that she’s ready to take over.”

Sanchez, 45, defeated attorney Sergio Saldivar in the March 5 Democratic primary with 69% of the vote. With no Republican or independent challengers in November, Sanchez essentially was elected into office. 

Her term was to begin on Jan. 1, 2025. The elected position is a four-year term and now pays about $226,500 a year, though no specific pay for Sanchez was discussed on Monday.

“Of course I will accept,” Sanchez told El Paso Matters, adding that the Commissioners Court still has to officially appoint her to the position. “I feel fortunate that Jo Anne is still there – and that of course we’ve worked together for so long – that we will have a very smooth transition.”

Sanchez has worked at the El Paso County Attorney’s Office for 15 years and will be only the third person to serve in the head position since 1993.

Sanchez said she plans to meet with community stakeholders – including victim advocacy groups, law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations –  and begin preparing to tackle pending issues such as Senate Bill 4 and the next legislative session.

Bernal was appointed in 2009 to replace José Rodríguez, who resigned to run for Senate after 17 years in the position. Bernal was elected without opposition every four years starting in 2012.

“We share a value and love of the community and to public service that keeps us dedicated,” Bernal said about her and Sanchez’s longtime service.

The County Attorney’s Office, which serves as the legal representative for the county, prosecutes juvenile criminal cases, enforces county and state environmental and health laws, and provides civil services for victims of family violence and elder abuse. The county attorney oversees more than 90 employees and an annual budget of about $11.8 million.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
April 18, 2024

Early voting begins Monday for the Canutillo Independent School District's $387 million bond proposal to build new schools and renovate its existing ones as the district grapples with declining enrollment and a $6 million budget deficit.

If approved, the bond would be used to replace three schools in older neighborhoods with new campuses in growing neighborhoods, as well as build a permanent facility for the Northwest Early College High School.

Canutillo ISD leaders say the bond is necessary to save the district from an ongoing financial crisis. Voters have rejected similar bond proposals in recent years.

“The bond is a catalyst for Canutillo; this is going to determine how the district moves forward and the future here for our students,” Canutillo ISD Superintendent Pedro Galaviz told El Paso Matters.

Voters will see two propositions on the May 4 ballot.

What’s on the Canutillo ISD ballot?

Proposition A asks whether they support or oppose a $379 million bond to build four new schools, to pay for repairs and safety and security improvements, and to upgrade its career and technical education services. 

This includes replacing Deanna Davenport Elementary School, located in the small isolated community east of Vinton, Texas, and Alderete Middle School, located off Transmountain Drive near the Outlet Mall, with new schools in the Enchanted Hills subdivision near the Franklin Mountains. It would also replace Canutillo Middle School with a new Upper Valley campus.

Those funds would also be used to purchase new roofs and heating and cooling systems for existing campuses.

Proposition B asks voters to support or oppose a $7.2 million bond to repay maintenance tax notes, or debt that did not require voter approval, used to provide students with laptops during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early voting runs from April 22-30. Election Day is May 4.

Galaviz said that he hopes the new schools will also attract more students and increase enrollment, bringing more revenue to the district. Texas schools receive state funding based on enrollment, so the more students that attend the district, the more money it makes.

Canutillo ISD enrollment, transfers

Though the Canutillo area continues to grow, data shows students have been leaving the district to attend school elsewhere.

Almost 30% of students living within the Canutillo ISD boundaries are enrolled in another district, primarily the El Paso Independent School District, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. Canutillo ISD currently has about 5,900 students.

The number of students that transferred out of the Canutillo district jumped from just under 1,800 during the 2022-23 school year to 2,300 during the 2023-24 school year, according to TEA.

Galaviz said this is costing the district $17 million a year in potential state funds.

Though many Canutillo parents don’t have their children in the district, district leaders said many would still want to approve the bond and an increased tax rate because it would build new schools in many of their neighborhoods.

“The school in that growing part of the district is at 107% capacity. So people do want to come to our schools, but they're also looking for convenience and proximity. Unfortunately, we don't have a middle school in that area and we only have one elementary school,” Canutillo ISD Communications Director Gustavo Reveles told El Paso Matters.

“We know that families want neighborhood schools and they want their tax dollars to be used for their own benefit,” Reveles said. “We're banking on them realizing that having schools in their neighborhoods is going to be beneficial for them.”

If approved, the bond would raise the district’s tax rate by 2 cents. This would increase school taxes on the average $288,000 Canutillo home by $38 a year, according to the school district. Homeowners with a qualifying senior citizen homestead exemption would not see an increase.

School conditions worsen, bond proposals fail

Galaviz said the bond would also help the district cover the costs of ongoing repairs, which have been cutting into the district’s budget.

Some district leaders said the bond will also help give students a better school experience, as many attend classes in aging buildings with poor air conditioning.

Students at Canutillo Middle School deal with leaky ceilings and science labs with no running water or gas for experiments.

Classes at the Northwest Early College are held in several dilapidated portable buildings with moldy ceilings and floors that have caved in. Safety has become an additional concern for the open air campus that has students walking from one building to another between classes.

“The students deserve to have an appropriate learning space for the work that they're doing,” Northwest Early College High School Principal Frank Clark told El Paso Matters, citing safety concerns.

The district has had a history of failed bond proposals, making the election an uphill battle.

Just under 65% of voters opposed a $187.5 million bond to build a new campus at the Northwest Early College High School in 2021 and 60% of voters rejected a $264.1 million bond to relocate Alderete Middle School, reconstruct Canutillo Middle School and make other general improvements in 2022.

The bond has received support and opposition from local businesses. The Canutillo ISD Bond 2024 PAC has received $20,000 in political contributions, $15,000 of which came from Hunt Communities, a development company that built the Cimarron and Franklin Hills neighborhoods. 

The PAC also received $5,000 from Jobe Materials, a local concrete and construction materials supply company.

CISD bond opposition sparks ethics complaint

Opposition by some local businesses has sparked an ethics complaint against Canutillo ISD Board President Armando “Mando” Rodriguez.

After Speedy’s Mexican Restaurant posted a banner opposing the bond issue, Rodriguez posted a sign near the restaurant asking voters to approve the bond and not support the restaurant.

The complaint, submitted by Samuel Carrejo, an El Paso resident from outside the district, alleges that the sign had misleading information and did not have the proper political advertising disclosures.

Rodriguez’s sign stated that Speedy’s didn’t support district students and teachers and asked passersby not to support the restaurant. It also said, “Paid for by: Mando.”

“I paid for it as a private citizen. I put ‘Mando.’ Everybody knows who that is right? I didn't know since it was out of my office, that I had to provide that (additional) information,” Rodriguez told El Paso Matters.

Rodriguez said he later updated the sign with his full name and the proper disclosures after speaking with the Texas Ethics Commission in early April.

The complaint also alleged that the sign made misleading statements by telling residents to save teachers and schools by voting for the bond, implying it could be used to pay their salaries.

In a response to the complaint, Rodriguez stated that the sign was intended to protest the restaurant and never implied that the bond “could be used for anything other than the payment of debts for capital improvements.”

Rodriguez said the Texas Ethics Commission dismissed that portion of the complaint. The agency didn’t immediately confirm that action, asking El Paso Matters to submit an open records request.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
April 17, 2024

The Week Ahead: Here’s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Earth Day Celebrations

Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, is a worldwide day of education about environmental issues facing the planet. In the Borderland, you can participate in an array of events to mark the day:

• “Planet v. Plastic” is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the city of El Paso’s Municipal Services Center, 7968 San Paulo Drive in the Lower Valley. The free event will include interactive activities for kids, a mascot dance-off, vendors, food trucks, informational booths and entertainment by Fungi Mungle and the Pro Wrestling Legacy. Live Active El Paso will hold a 3k walk/run starting at 10:15 a.m. The city’s Animal Services will have mobile pet adoptions.
• Party for the Planet: The El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens is celebrating wildlife and conservation as part of Earth day with its Party for the Planet event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21. Cultural dancers and young musicians, a presentation titled Saving our Endangered Species, special animal programs and conservation exhibitors will be part of the event. An enrichment activity with Obi the baby giraffe celebrating its first birthday is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday; while Khaleesi the orangutan's ninth birthday with a question-and-answer session at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Information: El Paso Zoo.
• The Chamizal National Park will host an Earth Day Cleanup Hike starting at 5 p.m. Monday, April 22. Participants should meet at the parking lot, 800 S. San Marcial St. The event includes a park cleanup where participants can also learn about the park and its surrounding area. The Chamizal National Memorial was established as a National Park Service unit in 1974, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Critical Mass El Paso, a group of outdoor enthusiasts who promote cycling and sharing the streets, will hold a “Kidicalmass” Earth Day Family Ride and Picnic starting at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 21, at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta. The event includes a 3-mile family-friendly bike ride along the Playa Drain Trail, kite flying and a picnic. The ride begins at 11 a.m., with kite flying and the picnic at noon. Bring plenty of water, a helmet, knee, wrist and elbow pads.

EPSO Presents ‘Tone Poems’

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will present “Tone Poems in Concert” at the Plaza Theatre, 125 Pioneer Plaza in Downtown, this weekend. EPSO Conductor Bohuslav Rattay will lead Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Faun,” Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Rachmaninoff’s “The Isle of the Dead” and Gershwin’s “American in Paris.” The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20. Ahead of the event, concertgoers can learn about the composers and music pieces with Program Notes with Nathan Black at 6:30 p.m. both days at the Philanthropy Theatre next to the Plaza Theatre. Tickets range from $17 to $49.  Information: epso.org

Selena Fashion Show at The Market

Selena’s style is almost as iconic as her music. To celebrate her birthday month, El Paso Community College and Bazaar Models will hold a Selena Fashion Show from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at The Market at Camp Cohen, 9700 Gateway Blvd. North. The event will showcase student fashion projects inspired by the queen of Tejano music’s iconic wardrobe. The event is in conjunction with the El Paso Museum of Art, whose exhibit “Selena Forever / Siempre Selena” is on display through February 2025. 

Full Moon Fiesta More Than Star Gazing

The Frontera Land Alliance, a nonprofit that works to preserve open spaces in the Borderland, is holding a family event celebrating the full moon in El Paso on Tuesday, April 23. The Full Moon Fiesta will include guided trail hikes, hands-on activities, Native American storytelling and star gazing at the El Paso Museum of Archeology, 4301 Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive, from 6 to 9 p.m. Moonrise time is expected at about 7:35 p.m. Admission is free. Information: El Paso Museum of Archeology.

Aboard the Streetcar

Entertainment aboard the El Paso Streetcar this week includes rock, opera and Tejano music. Students from the Let There Be Rock Schools will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, April 19. At 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, riders will be treated to a special Read-and-Ride event with the El Paso Opera’s Resident Artists pre-show tour to “Sunday in the Park with George” performance in May. A Tribute to Selena by Legna Villalobos will celebrate the Tejano legend’s birthday week at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 

Boarding for all three free events will be at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center stop on Santa Fe and Henry Trost streets. The events are first-come, first-serve. The electric cars run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. They travel on a 4.8-mile route along two loops through Downtown and Uptown El Paso. You can track the streetcar with the free Ride Sun Metro app. Information: sunmetro.net/streetcar.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
April 17, 2024

While various projects in the voter-approved $413 million public safety bond from 2019 are advancing, concerns are looming over increased post-pandemic construction prices that may cost taxpayers millions more than projected.

About $221 million of the bond is allocated to police facilities, including $90 million for new police headquarters; while the remaining $191.2 million will go to fire facilities, including $29.6 million toward new Fire Department headquarters. Both headquarters will be located at the future site of a joint training facility on a 300-acre parcel in Northeast El Paso. The City Council has not given direction on what will happen to the existing police and fire headquarters once the new facilities are complete, a city spokeswoman said.

The new and updated facilities are expected to improve response times in expanding areas of the city and continue the regional command policing model. The new academies are intended to accommodate larger training classes and boost the police and fire force, city leaders have said. The bond will also address major maintenance and renovation of aging facilities.

“They're all very important to us, so we appreciate what the voters did,” El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas told El Paso Matters.

The City Council on April 9 approved a $3.6 million contract with Consor Engineers LLC, in Houston to serve as project manager for the joint police and fire training academy. The $78 million facility has one of the highest price tags among the bond projects. 

The council that day also approved purchasing the former Bonham Elementary School near Cielo Vista Mall from the El Paso Independent School District for about $4.76 million for the future central regional command center. The new $24.6 million facility will replace the command center in Downtown, though metro and bicycle police will still operate out of the existing building.

Multiple projects have broken ground and about a dozen completed since the bond was approved in 2019 – just months before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and businesses shut down.

The $36 million police Far East command center at Pebble Hills Boulevard and Tim Foster Street is about 90% completed and is set to open in June. Three fire station renovations – No. 36 and No. 26 on the West Side and No. 10 in West Central – have been completed and are operational.

“We have outgrown our training and support facilities,” El Paso Fire Chief Jonathan Killings said. 

“Some of our fire stations needed updates and upgrades not only to provide better tools for our members but also so they can reflect the diversity of our organization and provide a comfortable and adequate environment for our first responders, and the public safety bond allows us to reach that goal,” he said.

Material, labor costs increase

While the city factored in 30% contingency and 4% escalation in project costs in 2019, city Engineer Yvette Hernandez said it is possible some projects may need more funding.

“What we're experiencing now is that post-COVID inflation in material prices, in labor and there is even still a labor shortage,” Hernandez said.

The price of material goods such as iron, steel products, copper, insulation materials and asphalt rose between 36% and 76%, a July 2023 bond update presentation to the City Council showed.

At least three projects are anticipated to cost more than projected, the presentation shows: The regional command center in the Cielo Vista neighborhood, initially estimated to cost $24.6 million, could require an additional $10 million; the police headquarters could cost $117 million, up from the projected $91 million; and the new police academy may cost $14 million more than the estimated $19 million.

Hernandez said despite the challenges, they are still aiming to keep the projects within budget through the design process. Hernandez said they are assessing projects to determine where potential cost savings can be diverted toward budget shortfalls. The public safety bond projects are expected to continue to be rolled out over the next five years.

“We really want to mitigate that by working with both our consultants and our contractors,” Hernandez said. “For right now, we're still within budget. Thankfully, we did learn from 2012 to account for inflation.”

Several projects in the city’s $473 million quality of life bond that included parks, libraries and community centers approved by voters in 2012 cost more than the city initially estimated or grew in scope and size under different city administrations, increasing construction costs.

The city has issued millions of dollars in certificates of obligation – debt that doesn’t require voter approval as do the general bonds – to supplement the cost of the projects that have grown at times, based partly on community feedback after the bond’s approval.

2019 Public Safety Bond Projects

About 59% of voters approved $413 million in bonds for several police and fire projects. Here’s a list of projects according to a 2023 city presentation:

Police: $221 million

• Far Eastside Command Center: $38.6M 
• Public Safety Training Academy: $19.9M
• Police Headquarters: $90.6M  
• Central Regional Command: $24.6M 
• Major Renovations of 4 Regional Command Centers: $44.8M 
• Fleet Replacement: $3.3M 

Fire: $191.2 million

• Station 36: $11.3M 
• Station 38: (Municipal Complex)* $11.8M 
• Special Teams Station: $17.1M 
• Station 40: $15.5M 
• Public Safety Training Facility and Logistics: $29.6M
• Fire Headquarters: $29.6M 
• Station Renovations: $74.4M 
• Vehicle Replacement: $1.8M

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
April 18, 2024

The Texas Education Agency appointed two conservators on Thursday to manage the Socorro Independent School District after a state investigation exposed widespread failings for improperly graduating students, failing to disclose a trustee's potential conflict of interest with a vendor, and paying $283,000 in unauthorized stipends.

The conservators include the former superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, Michael Hinojosa, and Andrew Kim, the director of research programs and outreach at the University of Texas at Austin, according to a letter sent Thursday to SISD from Commissioner of Education Mike Morath.

Hinojosa has past experience in El Paso, previously serving as superintendent of the Fabens Independent School District and as the executive director of the state’s Region 19 Education Service Center for the El Paso region.

Kim was the superintendent of the Comal Independent School District in Central Texas from 2012 to 2022. 

Socorro ISD_4-18-24Download

Hinojosa will serve as lead conservator, and Kim will “specifically focus on system improvements to Socorro ISD,” Morath said in his letter.

The conservators will work with the district of 47,000 students to ensure it complies with statutes and regulations under a settlement approved by the school board in early March.

They will be taking on the job as the district deals with a $33 million deficit and a change in leadership. Deputy Superintendent James Vasquez was appointed as the district’s acting leader after Superintendent Nate Carman was placed on administrative leave following an internal audit that found he had awarded contracts to a company he had previously done business with before joining SISD.

Carman was already preparing to leave SISD in June for a new job as superintendent of an Arizona school district.

The Texas Education Agency began investigating Socorro after the district’s internal auditor found that at least 276 seniors graduated in 2019 without the proper credits. The TEA also received several complaints about allegations of conflict of interest, unauthorized use of district funds and other governance concerns, according to the letter.

TEA investigators found that SISD violated the Texas Education Code by graduating students who did not meet requirements in 2019, failing to disclose Trustee Paul Guerra’s connections to a vendor used by the district, and paying staff $283,000 in unauthorized stipends.

The district will need to pay the conservators $125 per hour for their work, plus necessary travel expenses.

According to Morath's letter, the conservators will be charged with:

• Overseeing and directing any action of the district and/or governance team;
• Conducting onsite inspections of the district during the period of the placement;
• Facilitating a needs assessment of the district and governance systems;
• Supporting the creation of a corrective action plan to address concerns outlined in the needs assessment; and
• Reporting to the agency on the progress of the corrective action plan and governance activities of the district.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post TEA appoints 2 conservators to help oversee Socorro ISD appeared first on KVIA.

by Special to El Paso Matters, El Paso Matters
April 2, 2024

By La Verdad

Ciudad Juárez – With the deployment of more than 200 federal agents to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico’s National Migration Institute, or INM, is again boosting its immigration raids and other controls to prevent migrant settlements from forming along the Rio Grande and stop migrants from crossing into the United States.

The operation is led by INM Commissioner Francisco Garduño Yánez and kicked off Monday – five days after the one-year anniversary of the fire in a migrant detention center in Juárez that killed 40 migrants and injured 27 others. Garduño Yánez is charged in the fire for failure to keep migrants safe but remains free and on the job while he awaits trial.

INM agents this week were instructed to carry out immigration controls on the banks of the Rio Grande and some areas of this border community, to stop irregular migratory flows in the region, and immediately transfer migrants out of the area by land or air, it was reported. Neither Garduño nor the INM provided information about the operation.

Similar immigration raids and controls were implemented in the city in January 2023, with the arrival of more than 200 additional agents to those operating in the INM regional office. Those deployments came ahead of President Joe Biden’s stop in El Paso that month. The following month, law enforcement officials from the three levels of government were also deployed. The practice came to a stop after the tragic fire on March 27, 2023. Many of the migrants who died in the fire had been rounded up in citywide raids.

The immigration controls reintroduced on Monday will be implemented with agents from the Specialized Migration Assistance Group (GEAM) formed by the INM on March 20, according to unofficial information. 

They resumed operations a few days after large groups of migrants were again detected crossing into the United States through this region. Two weeks ago, hundreds of migrants were arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers after they rushed across the Rio Grande, tore down razor wire barriers and pushed past Texas National Guard members as they tried to reach Border Patrol agents to request asylum.

According to INM sources who cannot be named because they do not have authorization to speak on the subject, the operation began in Juárez but will later extend to the south of the state of Chihuahua to prevent the formation of migrant settlements.

The sources said that a regional operations center will be set up in the city of Jiménez, south of Chihuahua, in coordination with the INM regional offices in Durango and Coahuila to close the passage of migrants to the northern border. INM, however, calls the operation humanitarian rescue.

El Paso Matters contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
March 19, 2024

By Cindy Ramirez/ El Paso Matters / A joint investigation with La Verdad and Lighthouse Reports

Haz clic aquí para leer este reportaje en español.

Cristhian was all but dead at 23, intubated and under an induced coma. As he lay on a hospital bed struggling to survive, his family had begun to mourn him from more than 2,200 miles away.

They thought he was dead.

His parents, Samuel and Serafina, believed they had lost the youngest of their seven children. His pregnant wife, Mayra, fell to her knees in agony, thinking her unborn son would never know his father. 

Social media and early news reports told them that Cristhian’s journey from Honduras to the United States in search of the American Dream ended in a nightmare: A devastating fire in a provisional migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez across the border from El Paso killed 40 people and injured 27 more.

That was Monday, March 27, 2023, a day that marked one of the deadliest tragedies in a migrant center in Mexico.

Cristhian survived – but not unscathed. He spent more than a month in Juárez and El Paso hospitals, eventually discharged with an array of lingering health issues – and emotional scars he doesn’t like to talk about. 

'Why not me? Why was I saved?'

Cristhian, fire survivor

“Why not me?” Cristhian, who asked to be identified only by his first name, asks himself about why he wasn’t among those who died. Maybe it was just God’s will that he live, he said. He sits in a North Texas suburb home where he’s staying with family while in the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole. “Why was I saved?”

A year later, many questions about the fire remain unanswered. The incident is still under investigation and 9 of 11 people charged in the case remain behind bars in state prisons in Juárez awaiting their trials.

A months-long investigation by El Paso Matters, La Verdad and Lighthouse Reports details the chaos of that night, showing a number of lapses in safety protocols beyond the cell door key authorities allege could not be found. The news organizations obtained 16 hours of security camera footage outside and inside the center and thousands of pages of documents, including court affidavits and other records. They reviewed the security camera footage frame by frame, recreating the incident using 3D modeling.

Several survivors interviewed for this investigation confirmed previous reports that detained migrants lacked food and water after being rounded up off the streets and put into the overcrowded holding cell at the city’s National Migration Institute – Mexico’s immigration agency known as INM. They said they were verbally mistreated and confronted with threats of deportation.

The news outlets are only identifying survivors as each requested because some fear for their safety and persecution.

Previously leaked video snippets from facility security cameras have shown vinyl sleeping mats in the men’s holding cell on fire – and smoke quickly overtaking the area as uniformed officials walked around the facility without opening the cell.

‘We’re not going to open it for them’

But previously undisclosed security camera footage and court documents obtained by the news organizations show a number of safety failures that night: Uniformed authorities looked for fire extinguishers that were missing or not working properly, and considered using water hoses to put out the fire. None of the seven smoke detectors in the facility functioned, and there was no sprinkler system. Two other access points to the cell had previously been sealed off, one walled off completely.

There was an unhurried attempt to locate the keys to a side door that would have helped dissipate the smoke – with various uniformed people asking each other who last had the keys. Various officials throughout the day had opened and closed the cell as well as the side door with two different sets of keys.

“A ellos no les vamos abrir, ya les dije a los güeyes,”
“We are not going to open (the cell) for them,
I already told those guys.”

NATIONAL imMIGRATION INSTITUTE - juarez AGENT

And while the majority of the video has no sound, the news organizations discovered two cameras near the main entrance with muddy audio.

“Ay un desmadre!” one private security guard can be heard saying. “It’s a disaster!”

One voice comes across a little more clearly.

“A ellos no les vamos abrir, ya les dije a los güeyes,” a woman in a migration institute uniform says in Spanish as she talks and texts on her cell phone.

“We are not going to open (the cell) for them, I already told those guys.”

It’s unclear with whom she was talking on the phone.

The woman was one of two INM agents in charge during the night shift that day, documents reviewed by the news organizations show.

The INM official is one of the 11 people charged in the incident and remains jailed. The news organizations attempted to contact the woman for comment through her attorney, but did not receive a response. 

Eight other INM authorities and private security guards are charged in the case as prosecutors have stated that the incident showed a “pattern of irresponsibility.”

The head of the National Migration Institute, Francisco Garduño Yáñez, has been charged with criminal conduct for failure to perform his duties, though a year later he remains free – and on the job.

The two Venezuelan migrants accused of setting the fire are behind bars.

The news organizations attempted to reach them and others charged in the case through their attorneys or families and either received no response or their representatives couldn’t be found.

Officials at INM refused to comment on this investigation, though they have repeatedly pointed to the “missing” keys as the reason nobody opened the men’s cell. The videos show that the keys were at the facility as 67 people trapped inside the men’s cell suffocated from the toxic smoke.

Additionally, court affidavits show that an unidentified guard handed firefighters on the scene a key to the exterior door – minutes after they had sledgehammered a hole through the wall to let out the smoke.

Fifteen women detained in a nearby cell were released by a private security guard when smoke started seeping into their dormitory. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” the women cried as they hurriedly exited the building. The women didn’t receive any medical treatment on the scene.

‘We are going to die!’

Cristhian, who has a shy and quiet demeanor, won’t talk much about the details of that night or who might be at fault. He hopes justice is served, he said, but is now focused on moving forward.

None of that, however, sits well with Estuardo, a 25-year-old former security guard from Guatemala who survived the fire. He said the deaths could have been prevented.

“They could have totally opened the door, but they didn’t want to open the door,” he said in Spanish during an October interview in an El Paso migrant shelter where he was staying temporarily under humanitarian parole. “They just argued that the key wasn’t around. How could the key be missing? Moments before, they had unlocked the cell door.”

“Nos vamos a quemar! Nos vamos a morir! Tenemos hijos!”
“We are going to burn! We are going to die!
We have children!”

estuardo, fire survivor

Authorities in charge of the detention center knew of the threat of the fire, Estuardo said. But the threats – and later their cries for help – fell on deaf ears.

“Nos vamos a quemar! Nos vamos a morir! Tenemos hijos!” Estuardo recalled he and other detainees shouting.“We are going to burn! We are going to die! We have children!”

The detention facility closed down after the fire. Garduño in May announced it would be replaced with a new building near the Ysleta-Zaragoza international bridge some 15 miles east and would be supervised by Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights. He didn’t provide a timeline for the new facility, which has yet to open.

The fire led the human rights commission to investigate the incident and visit immigration stations across the country, stating that the “regrettable events” in Juárez were the “irreversible result of a dysfunctional immigration policy.” The commission released its “Special Report on the Conditions of Immigration Stays and Stations” on Feb. 9.

The report confirms that the INM Juárez facility had a shortage of food, toilet paper and drinking water for the detainees, citing that some migrants had not had a drink of water for more than 12 hours. The poor conditions led migrants to protest by burning the mats – a common practice in other migratory stations that the commission report states the INM did not address to prevent from happening again.

The commission also states it had monitored six immigration stations between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3, 2023 – including the one in Juárez – as part of its regular checks. However, commission personnel who visited the provisional facility faced “obstructive behavior” because they were initially denied access and were not allowed to take cameras inside once they were granted entrance, the report states.

Friends on a journey

“Con lo que me pasó, no me arriesgaría,” said Cristhian, the migrant from Honduras. “With what happened to me, I wouldn’t take the risk again.”

He described his desire to migrate as personal. It was about family: “When I left home, I committed that God’s will be done and that if He allowed me to come here, that it would be to help my family.”

Cristhian worked on his parents’ small campo in Naranjito, a town of about 13,000 people in the western edge of Honduras about 25 miles from Guatemala.

The family farmed coffee beans and simple grains. He was married, and his wife was expecting their first child together. He had started to build a home for his budding family, but the campo was barely making enough for the family to eat, he said.

“Me arriesgo?” Cristhian asked himself. “Should I take the risk?”

He and a group of childhood friends from the nearby villageof Nuevo Porvenir in the town of Protección, Santa Barbara, made the journey together.

The friends were from among the 55 families who had been displaced by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 when the village was called simply “Porvenir,” according to the Honduran online media outlet Contra Corriente.

The hurricane destroyed farms and crops there, and families rebuilt their homes out of plastic and wood just a few kilometers away, the outlet reported. About 375 people now live in the Nuevo Porvenir village, the latest Honduran census estimates show.

Looking for opportunities not found in their villages, the men headed north to Mexico and then traveled via charter bus to Juárez.

They were swept up by immigration officials, city police and Mexican National Guard members, and were detained in the same center at the foot of theinternational bridge connecting the U.S. and Mexico.

At about 9:30 p.m., the detention center fire started. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived 13 minutes later. The first person was brought out nine minutes after that. 

Not everyone made it out alive.

RELATED NEWS

‘We’re not going to open it for them!’ What happened the night of the migrant detention center fire in Juárez?

An investigation by La Verdad in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports and El Paso Matters reveals new details – safety failures, abuses and oversights – about what occurred at the migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on March 27, 2023, that contributed to a deadly fire that killed 40.

‘It was like a movie that would not end’

A paramedic from the Red Cross in Juárez describes the scene as “disturbing.”

“The most impactful thing is that you saw them take out one person, and another, and another,” Adrián Fernando Meléndez de la Torre, a Red Cross coordinador who responded to the scene, said in Spanish. “Parecía película, que no podía terminar.”

It was like a movie that would not end, he said, describing several runs he made taking severely burned patients between triage areas and hospitals. Most of the men were unconscious, he said, while a few were conscious but unable to speak.

De la Torre said the scene was cleared of victims seven hours later.

“Parecía película, que no podía terminar.”
“It was like a movie that would not end.”

Adrián Fernando Meléndez de la Torre, juarez Red Cross coordinador

Cristhian, for his part, said he has no memory of the scene described by de la Torre. 

He didn’t see how the fire started, and only recalls hearing some commotion among the detainees before being overwhelmed by the smoke. He didn’t have time to think, to react, to drop to the floor or to put his shirt over his mouth.

He fell and lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was at University Medical Center of El Paso, where he had spent15 days. He had spent 29 days at the General Hospital in Juárez before that. He suffered internal burns and pneumonia. He lost 20 pounds. He still has trouble breathing “normally” and has “very frequent” headaches, he said.

The first person he saw when he opened his eyes was his pregnant wife. His brother, Exequiel, was also there.

“I cried with joy when I saw (my wife),” Cristhian recalled. “She put my hand on her pregnant belly and told me, ‘Our son is in here. Spirits up. Be strong because I need you.’”

His three friends didn’t have the same fate. They died of asphyxia from smoke inhalation.

The bodies of Edin Josué Umaña Madrid, 26;  Jesús Adony Alvarado Madrid, 32; and Dikson Aron Córdoba Perdomo, 30, were flown back to Honduras more than two weeks after the fire. The three friends had joint funerals and were buried near each other in their village of Nuevo Porvenir, La Prensa of Honduras reported.

They were three of six Hondurans who died in the fire. The three others were José Ángel Ceballos Molina, 21; Óscar Danilo Serrano Ramírez, 37; and Alis Dagoberto Santos López, 42. They had separate funerals in their respective hometowns.

Cristhian was among six survivors from Honduras.

“I’m grateful to God for that opportunity to see my son born and to be with my wife. So many others who died cannot do so,” he said.

After receiving parole, he traveled to Arkansas to see one of his brothers, who had migrated to the U.S. years earlier. His son, Jahaziel, was born there. Cristhian, his wife and baby moved to Texas, where they live with Exequiel and a brother-in-law. 

Exequiel says Cristhian shows signs of PTSD, anxiety and depression when he suddenly goes quiet and stares into nowhere, his eyes tearing up and having to snap back into today.

 “He appears to be OK, but he’s not the same as before,” said Exequiel, who was granted humanitarian parole to join Cristhian in the U.S. “He doesn’t want to talk about the incident but we know it haunts him everyday.”

“He doesn’t want to talk about the incident
but we know it haunts him everyday.”

Exequiel, brother of fire survivor

The family is considering applying for asylum, though Exequiel is not sure what that will mean for the wife and 2-year-old daughter he left behind.

Their immigration hearings are set for late 2025.

Three national days of mourning

Cristhian’s story resonates with other survivors.

Estuardo, the security guard from Guatemala, was flown to the national burn center in Mexico City for treatment in critical condition, spending more than 40 days there before being released. He suffered burns to about 25% of his body, including his head and ears, which he tries to hide under a baseball cap, as well as burns in his airway, kidney injuries and digestive tract bleeding.

His right hand was amputated.

Standing about 5-foot-6 with a stocky build, Estuardo said losing his hand was especially emotional because he was counting on his youth, strength and “working hands” to land work in the United States. Any kind of work would do, he said. 

He hoped to be able to quickly start sending money back home to his parents, who live in a small agricultural town of under 50,000 people in Guatemala’s department of San Marcos, a state which sits along the western border with Mexico. His brother, wife and baby daughter were also granted temporary humanitarian parole.

Estuardo and two others – Rubbelsy, 39, a taxi driver, and Enrique, 24, a security guard – crossed the Paso del Norte International Bridge into El Paso in October. They stayed in an El Paso migrant shelter for a few days until their travel could be arranged and are now in other U.S. cities that they asked not be disclosed.

They were among nine Guatemalans injured in the fire and said they, too, feel survivor’s guilt: Of the 40 men who died in the fire, 19 of them were from Guatemala.

Their bodies were flown to their home country on April 11, 2023. Their caskets, blanketed with the country’s white-and-blue flags, lay lined up on an airport tarmac as their families wept over them. The country’s government declared three national days of mourning over the deaths.

‘Their lives have forever changed’

Cristhian and Estuardo are among 50 people – fire survivors and their families – who, with the help of human and migrant rights organizations, received expedited temporary humanitarian parole from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

Entry into the country also automatically put them in the removal proceedings process, which means they still have to go before an immigration judge to present their case, said Jennifer Babaie, director of advocacy and legal services at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso-Juárez. In the meantime, they can apply for asylum to remain in the country indefinitely, she said.

Of those 50 who received that parole, 29 were fire survivors – 22 men and seven women. In addition, 21 family members were also granted entry to the U.S., including eight children ages 13 and younger. 

None received work authorization, but could apply for it, Babaie said.

Las Americas worked with other human rights and migrant services groups on both sides of the border – including El Paso’s Annunciation House, Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (Integral Human Rights in Action) in Juárez and the Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (Institute for Women on Migration) in Mexico – to help transfer the survivors and their families into the country.

“Their lives have forever changed after that incident, and they will have a long road to recovery,” said Crystal Sandoval, director of strategic initiatives at Las Americas. Her voice cracked as she recounted some of the struggles the families have had in finding health and mental health care, rehabilitation services and social services to help them survive.

The families are not receiving any assistance from the U.S. government, Sandoval said, instead relying on friends, family, churches, nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations for food, shelter and other basic needs.

"They will have a long road to recovery.”

Crystal Sandoval, Las Americas immigrant advocacy center of el Paso-juarez

The organizations are also representing some of the survivors in pending litigation in Mexico to help them get compensation, Sandoval added. 

The Mexican government, through the migration institute, proposed reparations to the victims’ families. 

In July, funds of about $200,000 (3.5 million pesos) were approved for each of the families of the 40 men who died in the fire – an amount that human rights groups condemned as vastly inadequate.

Fundación para la Justicia, a human rights organization based in Mexico City, in mid-December issued a statement calling for Mexican authorities to make reparations. “More than monetary compensation, they are in search of justice not just for themselves, but for the thousands who have lost their lives, forgotten at some point in Mexico.” 

“The physical wounds are healing, my health is at 30%, but the wounds in the soul, who or how do I heal them? I still wake up in the middle of the night with the fear of being burned alive,” Rubbelsy, the taxi driver from Guatemala, said in a December statement from Fundación para la Justicia. “It is not just about fair reparation for the damage, but about restoring mental health, and having justice.”

“I still wake up in the middle of the night
with the fear of being burned alive

rubbelsy, fire survivor

Whether any monetary reparations have been made remains unclear, though some payments were discussed during a recent meeting of Mexican government officials.

The executive secretary of Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights recently told a group of senators that the commission had proof that money had been paid to the families of at least five victims. Francisco Javier Emiliano Estrada Correa, during a Feb. 21 meeting of a work group charged with following up on the incident, counted off the number of families who had received monetary reparations. He abruptly stopped at five and didn’t give further details, saying he would provide the group with a full report on the reparations at a later time.

In its February special report, the commission listed expenses that the immigration institute and other Mexican agencies said they undertook in caring for survivors and their families – including hospital and medical costs, food, travel, hotel stays, laundry services, clothes, disposable cell phones and toiletries.

Mexico also offered the survivors and some of their family members humanitarian visas to remain in the country.

The key to change

Human rights organizations have demanded fair and open trials for the accused, but also accountability and change in INM operations.

Five months after the fire, the migration institute put out a press release stating it planned to close down 33 other provisional migrant detention centers across Mexico and outlined a slew of improvements it promised to make at other stations – including installing emergency exits, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

In responding to the National Commission on Human Rights for its report, the migration institute told the organization that six of those provisional centers are still in operation. INM did not make available a list of their locations or that of open permanent centers, the report states.

Among other things, the INM said that in April and May following the fire, 450 INM personnel and others working at migrant detention centers received first aid, fire response and evacuation training.

The INM indicated it installed or conducted maintenance checks on smoke detectors in a number of its properties, and that it installed more than 200 new fire extinguishers on 12 properties and refilled another 1,600 extinguishers across its facilities.

The institute didn’t provide any updates regarding the commission’s recommendation that it create a registry of detainees across centers. It pointed to revised overcrowding protocols that require detention center officials to notify the Immigration Control and Verification Department when they’re at 80% capacity and make plans to decompress them.

The National Migration Institute also didn’t respond to the commission’s inquiry on how many people in each migrant detention center are provided detention cell keys.

This special investigation is a joint project by Cindy Ramirez of El Paso Matters; Rocío Gallegos, Blanca Carmona and Gabriela Minjáres of La Verdad; and Jack Sapoch, Monica C. Camacho and Melissa del Bosque of Lighthouse Reports.

Interested in republishing our special report? You’re welcome to republish this series at no cost. We ask that you please follow our republishing guidelines. For easier access to all the downloadable materials in this project, including stories, videos and photos, contact El Paso Matters’ Assistant Editor Cindy Ramirez at cramirez@elpasomatters.org.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters

March 22, 2024

Update, 6:10 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional comments.

The Socorro Independent School District violated the Texas Education Code by graduating students who did not meet requirements, failing to disclose Trustee Paul Guerra’s connections to a vendor used by the district, and paying $283,000 in unauthorized stipends, according to a report released Friday by the Texas Education Agency.

The report was released after the board voted unanimously earlier this month to accept the appointment of one or more conservators to oversee the district and develop a corrective action plan in response to the TEA’s findings. Conservators appointed by the state have the authority to direct trustees and administrators, and overrule any of their decisions.

TEA has not yet appointed conservators for the district, which has 47,000 students.

As part of the plan, the TEA could change the district’s and its schools’ previous accountability ratings, which are used to grade academic performance and financial management. 

The report said Socorro officials had cooperated with the investigation.

“It should be noted that Socorro ISD’s Board of Trustees requested this report without any attempt to negotiate its content. The Board specifically, and commendably, cited its desire to be transparent with its stakeholders and further believed that the issuance of the report was necessary to be fully informed when making decisions to reform its district,” the report said.

TEA officials also said that Superintendent Nate Carman joined the district “after the substantiated violations occurred” and was “steadfast in his cooperation with this special investigation.” Carman, who was appointed superintendent in 2022, recently accepted a job with an Arizona school district and will leave Socorro in June.

In addition to finding violations that led to the appointment of one or more conservators, the report also mentioned a number of complaints made to TEA regarding board members and administrators. Those complaints – several of which involved Trustee Ricardo Castellano and his wife, Gabriela, then a teacher in the district – were considered closed by the district’s settlement agreement with TEA and were not resolved by investigators.

Guerra contested the investigation’s findings and told El Paso Matters he did nothing wrong.

SISD staff and board president Micheal Najera have not responded to requests for comments.

State Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, said the report is a step toward repairing the district.

“Transparency and accountability are fundamental in public education and our students deserve nothing less. Socorro Independent School District’s decision to ask the Texas Education Agency to oversee district operations is a commendable step toward getting back on track, restoring trust, and advancing the well-being of students, teachers, and parents,” Blanco said. “While local governance will remain under SISD’s Board of Trustees and superintendent, our office is committed to working closely with SISD and TEA to promptly and effectively address any challenges and ensure our students receive the quality education they deserve to reach their full potential.”

Improper graduations

The TEA report, based on investigations dating back to 2020, outlined a series of failures in El Paso’s second-largest school district. The most serious is a finding that confirmed a report from the district’s internal auditor that at least 276 seniors – about 8% of the total graduates – were allowed to graduate in 2019 even though they lacked the credits required by state law.

The internal audit found improper graduations at all district high schools, though the greatest number were at Socorro High School. Jose Espinoza, who resigned in 2021, was Socorro ISD’s superintendent at the time.

Socorro had been aware since 2013 of potential problems in the way it tracked high school students, and implemented policies to address the problems, the report said. 

“However, as will be referenced throughout this report, TEA investigators found that SISD administrators and staff failed to demonstrate sound adherence and lacked consistency in the implementation and monitoring of the revised policies and procedures,” the report said.

The investigation found that SISD incorrectly documented students’ academic records, resulting in at least 276 seniors graduating in Spring 2019 without meeting the local and state requirements. The TEA report only mentions 2019 and doesn’t allege improper graduations in other years.

In many of those cases, students did not earn credit because they got a failing grade below 70%, or missed too many classes. Texas law requires students to attend 90% of their classes to graduate. If they attend less than 90% but more than 75% of their classes, they can still graduate by completing a make-up plan approved by their principal.

In some cases, students completed their make-up plans, but were still not eligible for graduation because the district’s attendance committees did not verify their plans were completed until months after the ceremony.

Some students also did not meet graduation requirements because staff did not submit proper paperwork. SISD has a policy that allows two parts of a course to be averaged together to get a student a passing grade.

“For example, a student earning a 72 in the first semester of a course and a 68 the second semester would average out to a 70 and would be awarded credit for the entire course,” the report stated.

TEA investigators found that several students were not awarded credit under this policy because the forms were not submitted to initiate the process.

SISD did not contest any of the allegations about improper graduations in its response to TEA, according to the report.

A trustee’s failure to report potential conflict of interest

The investigation also found that Guerra, who has served on the board since 2010, failed to submit forms disclosing that he was a sales manager for Insco Distributing Inc. — a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning supplies company — between 2017 and 2020. Insco has been an approved vendor for SISD since 2015, according to the report. Guerra only submitted the required forms in 2016 and 2021.

Under the Texas Education Code, school board members must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and refrain from discussing or voting on those issues if they make at least $2,500 in a year with a company doing business with the district.

Guerra told El Paso Matters that he filled out the forms every year since he took office in 2010, but the district did not keep a record of it.

“I submit those every year. Now we’re trying to find the records,” Guerra said. “Unfortunately, my mistake, I did not make a copy of the records but I did submit those.”

In October 2021, the board voted to approve a list of vendors — which included Insco — to provide heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for the district. 

Initially, SISD Trustee Pablo Barrera moved to approve the list without Insco, but Guerra argued the company should remain, the TEA report said. Guerra initially voted against the motion, but later abstained in a revote after he was reminded Insco was a part of the list.

Though Guerra officially abstained from voting, the TEA found that his comments during the deliberation were improper.

Guerra said he didn’t know he shouldn’t have taken part in those discussions.

“I shouldn’t have done that, which I had no idea,” Guerra said. “I should have just stayed quiet. But it was like ‘hey guys I filled out the paperwork, I’m OK.’”

Guerra said the only thing he discussed with the board was the fact that he did fill out the required conflict of interest forms.

In response to an open records request from El Paso Matters, SISD staff said the district had no records of any conflict of interest disclosure forms from 2022 to 2024.

In its response to TEA, Socorro ISD claimed the state’s conflict of interest laws only apply to elected officials themselves, so it had no obligation to file a disclosure on behalf of Guerra. The district also asserted that conflict of interest forms are only required to be submitted if a vendor gives a gift to a board member or staff. TEA officials rejected those arguments, and said both Guerra and the district had an obligation to note his potential conflict of interest.

Prior to the release of the investigation, Najera told El Paso Matters that he would take accountability and potentially resign if he was named in the report.

Guerra said he has no intentions of resigning.

Improper stipends

TEA investigators also found that Socorro ISD made 246 improper stipend payments to staff, totalling $283,000, between 2016 and 2022. The stipends were not authorized in the compensation plan approved by the school board in those years, the report said. 

The improper payments included nearly $78,000 in stipends for soccer coaches and over $33,000 for special education teachers. SISD did not contest any of the allegations about unauthorized stipends, according to the report. The report does not appear to seek repayment of the unauthorized stipends from employees who received them.

The TEA also investigated allegations that trustees and staff met outside of scheduled board meetings to discuss the results of the graduation audit and misused special education funds.

The report states investigators did not find enough evidence to determine there was a violation.

The Castellanos told El Paso Matters they believe they are being targeted by the school district and the TEA for previously blowing the whistle on the unapproved stipends.

They provided no evidence that they were being targeted

Other complaints to TEA

In addition to the 36-page report on the findings that led to the decision to appoint one or more conservators, TEA also released a three-page appendix of 11 other complaints involving Socorro ISD the agency had investigated since 2021. TEA said Socorro school board members had requested that the appendix be made public.

“These complaints … have not been fully investigated at the time of this Final Report. These complaints have been resolved through settlement and therefore investigations will not be completed in their regular course,” the report appendix said, adding that they are “forwarded to the Board and the appointed Conservator(s) as an aid to further necessary reforms.”

One of the complaints involved an audio recording of school board members Castellano and Barrera “discussing engaging in board overreach and retaliation against the principal of the campus on which one of their wives worked as a teacher. The audio recording appeared to refer to their desire to involve themselves in several personnel issues in the district,” according to the report appendix.

TEA opened this investigation on Jan. 10, 2023, about three weeks after El Paso Matters published a story about the recording, which Gabriela Castellano had submitted in 2021 as part of a grievance against her principal at Bill Sybert School. Ricardo Castellano is a retired El Paso police lieutenant.

Three of the complaints investigated by TEA came from Gabriela Castellano, alleging that her principal and other district officials were acting improperly. In one complaint, she alleged that a school board member who wasn’t identified “stared at her ‘with anger’ at a game.”

Three of the complaints – including the audio recording – involved allegations of wrongdoing by the Castellanos, including one by Gabriela Castellano’s principal. Gabriela Castellano is no longer employed by Socorro ISD.

Another complaint accuses school board member Barrera, a retired Border Patrol agent, of harassing a teacher after Barrera’s child wasn’t admitted to a magnet program.   

The most recent complaint was filed on Nov. 17, 2023, by Ricardo Castellano, alleging the board was violating its own policies on placing and removing items from the agenda.

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by Brandy Ruiz, El Paso Matters
March 18, 2024

Editor’s Note: El Paso Matters is partnering with Gigafact to produce “fact briefs” that examine claims about issues shaping our community. 

NO

El Paso’s Eastside Regional Command Center, the police department's new substation, occupies 10 acres and has a fitness center, car maintenance bays, and administrative and detention facilities. It’s not a training facility. 

The $38.6 million project is funded by a 2019 bond approved by voters and is similar in size to the Mission Valley Regional Command Center. It is set to open in June. 

Activist and researcher Renee Johnston included the El Paso facility in a list of 70 “cop cities.”

The term “cop city” arose as a nickname given by protesters to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a proposed law enforcement training facility under construction.

Atlanta’s facility cost $90 million, sits on 85 acres and includes multiple training facilities such as a mock city for burn building training, a vehicle training course and urban police training facilities, according to the center’s website.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources:

• City of El Paso Capital Project Report (2023) (page 15-16): https://www.elpasotexas.gov/assets/Documents/CoEP/Capital-Improvement/Quarterly-Report.pdf
• El Paso Police Department Email Response: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24483309-eppd-eastside-regional-command-center-date-email?responsive=1&title=1 
• Map of “Cop Cities”: https://isyourlifebetter.net/cop-cities-usa/ 
• Renee Johnston Quote (Timestamp: 27:27): https://vimeo.com/914852334 
• Atlanta Police Public Training Center Page: https://www.atltrainingcenter.com/about

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Is a ‘cop city’ being built in El Paso? appeared first on KVIA.

by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
March 11, 2024

Attorney General Ken Paxton “acted without regard to due process and fair play” in seeking to shut down a leading migrant service provider, an El Paso judge said Monday in a ruling that blocks the state’s efforts for now.

“The Attorney General’s efforts to run roughshod over Annunciation House, without regard to due process or fair play, call into question the true motivation for the Attorney General’s attempt to prevent Annunciation House from providing the humanitarian and social services that it provides. There is a real and credible concern that the attempt to prevent Annunciation House from conducting business in Texas was predetermined,” 205th District Judge Francisco Dominguez said in his ruling. 

Dominguez said Annunciation House’s petition for declaratory judgment means the case is governed by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which essentially blocks any action by Paxton until the court reviews the case. 

The judge denied motions from Annunciation House to issue a temporary injunction or quash the attorney general’s request to examine its documents. But his ruling saying the case is subject to court rules has a similar effect of blocking further action in the case until Dominguez can review arguments about the constitutionality of Paxton’s request.

Ruben Garcia, the founder and director of Annunciation House, said he was grateful for the judge’s ruling. He said Paxton’s actions could threaten businesses across Texas.

“It kind of sends a shiver through all incorporated entities in the state of Texas, because people are going to ask, does this mean that the attorney general feels that they have the authority to arrive at any institution, any business, any entity, and just walk up and say, we are submitting a request to examine. And I think that's a really fundamental question about whether that's a way to function,” Garcia said.

The legal battle began Feb. 7 when three representatives from the Attorney General’s Office served Annunciation House with a request to immediately examine operational records. 

The next day Dominguez granted Annunciation House’s request for a temporary restraining order against the attorney general. Annunciation House has said it will produce all documents that are legally required, but they first want a judge to review whether any of the documents are confidential and protected from release to the Attorney General’s Office.

Paxton countersued Annunciation House on Feb. 20, alleging the nonprofit failed to immediately respond to his requests for records and should be stripped of its ability to do business in Texas. The attorney general asserted in court filings that the Texas Business Organizations Code gives him essentially unlimited powers to request documents from any business in the state to ensure they are complying with laws.

Dominguez conducted a two-hour hearing on Thursday that primarily focused on Annunciation House’s injunction request. Speaking bluntly toward the end of the hearing, he suggested Paxton had “ulterior political motives” in seeking records from Annunciation House.

Annunciation House is a nonprofit organization that has been providing what it calls hospitality for migrants and refugees since 1978. Paxton and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have increasingly criticized Annunciation House and other Catholic organizations for providing migrant services on the border.

Paxton has accused Annunciation House of participating in human smuggling and has called its hospitality houses “stash houses.” Garcia and his supporters have vehemently rejected those allegations, and Annunciation House has never been accused of violating the criminal laws Paxton cited in his court filing.

Update, 9:10 a.m.: This story has been updated with comments from the Annunciation House director.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post El Paso judge blocks Texas AG Ken Paxton’s effort to close Annunciation House appeared first on KVIA.

by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
March 7, 2024

An El Paso district judge lashed out at the Texas Attorney General’s Office after a lawyer said in court Thursday that Annunciation House was “stonewalling” by refusing to negotiate over documents demanded by the office.

“Hold on. This is the part where you're starting to offend my intelligence. You did not offer to negotiate. You did not offer to act in good faith,” 205th District Court Judge Francisco Dominguez told Ryan Baasch, chief of the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division, at a hearing on Annunciation House’s request to hold off producing some documents until a judge could review whether they were legally obligated to do so

Dominguez said Annunciation House has shown a willingness to negotiate with the Attorney General’s Office, which has said it will close the nonprofit that offers humanitarian services to migrants.

“There was no attempt whatsoever to negotiate by the attorney general, which is what gives the court rise for concern that there are ulterior political motives here taking place that go outside of what the law requires, go outside of what the law demands,” he said.

Dominguez, a Democrat and former civil rights attorney, did not immediately rule after a two-hour hearing on Annunciation House’s request for an injunction or other action to allow for a court review of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s demand for records and the immediate termination of Annunciation House’s ability to operate in Texas for failing to immediately produce the records.

A ruling likely will come in the next few days.

Paxton, a Republican, was not at Thursday’s hearing. 

Baasch – who twice had to be reminded by the bailiff to stand when addressing the court – acknowledged in response to Dominguez’s criticism that the state law used by the attorney general to demand documents from Annunciation House “may seem to impose a very significant burden” on Annunciation House, but he said the law clearly required immediate production of documents when sought by the Attorney General’s Office. 

Three representatives from the Attorney General’s Office on Feb. 7 served Annunciation House with a request to immediately examine operational records, but agreed to give the agency a day to consult with attorneys. The next day, Dominguez granted Annunciation House’s request for a temporary restraining order against the attorney general.

Annunciation House is seeking a temporary injunction that would stay in effect until Dominguez ruled on its legal obligations in regards to the attorney general’s request.

Jerome Wesevich, the attorney for Annunciation House, told the court that the agency has turned over 212 pages of records so far to the Attorney General’s Office. He said the request was “an abuse of power to try to stop Annunciation House from doing business.”

The request for documents – and subsequent court battle – comes amid a major political debate about immigration and border enforcement. Baasch told Dominguez that Paxon’s request was in response to a request by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for an investigation into nonprofits that provide assistance to migrants. Many of those organizations, like Annunciation House, are affiliated with the Catholic church.

The only witness to testify at Thursday’s hearing was Annunciation House’s founder and director, Ruben Garcia. Much of the questioning focused on Annunciation House’s history and the services it provides.

He said that some of the records requested include medical information about people who have been assisted by Annunciation House. Garcia said trust between the guests at Annunciation House and the volunteer staff was vital to perform its mission.

“That relationship is a profound relationship, that when they share their story, their situation with us, that they believe that to be done in confidence,” Garcia said.

He also said that release of information could put Annunciation House’s guests at what he calls “houses of hospitality” at risk.

“Some of the information that is given to us could be harmful to either the refugee, him or herself, or to the sponsor, if that information were to be made known. There are people who have fled for their lives,” he said.

Baasch asked Garcia if he was aware that the law required the attorney general to keep confidential any records provided in response to the request. Garcia said he didn’t know that, but he still had concerns.

During Baasch’s cross-examination, he asked Garcia if he was familiar with the case of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student who was beaten to death last month.  Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso in 2022, is charged with murder in her death.

Baasch asked if Ibarra stayed at Annunciation House, and Garcia said he didn’t know.

In court filings, Paxton alleged that the Annunciation House “appears to be involved” in the operation of an illegal stash house by providing assistance to people who enter the country and evade U.S. Border Patrol agents. He also alleged the organization appears to be involved in the business of human smuggling because it provides migrants with transportation.

Garcia and his supporters have vehemently denied those accusations, and Annunciation House has never faced criminal charges for violating the laws cited in Paxton’s court filings.

During his testimony, Garcia said three volunteers quit after Paxton’s document request, concerned that they could face criminal charges.

“We depend so much on volunteers, and I'll tell you the truth, I hope God is listening to me right now in saying, we very much are hoping that others will step forward and say, you know what, we'll come down. We'll come down, we'll help out,” Garcia said at a brief news conference after the hearing.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Judge suggests Paxton has ‘ulterior political motives’ in Annunciation House case appeared first on KVIA.

by Claudia Lorena Silva, El Paso Matters
March 6, 2024

The Socorro Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to ask the Texas Education Agency to take over governance of El Paso’s second-largest school district.

The action came after a closed-door session of the school board Tuesday. During the vote, trustees said little beyond making a motion, and unanimously approving an order to request the state agency to appoint one or more conservators to oversee operations of the district.

Socorro ISD officials released a statement from school board President Michael Najera in response to questions from El Paso Matters.

“It is no secret that the district has been facing challenges and we want to do everything we can to remove any skepticism in the leadership of our district administrators and our governance as board trustees of the school district,” Najera said. “Our aim is to eradicate any doubts in our school district so that we can bring closure to the tribulations that have been impacting the district and continue to move our district forward, because the fact is despite these challenges our students, teachers and district are achieving great levels of success.”

TEA officials could not be reached for comment.

The East El Paso district has more than 47,000 students, is facing possible layoffs, has a $33 million deficit and its superintendent is leaving after this school year. 

A state-appointed conservator has sweeping powers, including to direct actions by school board members, superintendents and principals. 

The state education commissioner can appoint a conservator when districts or charter schools don’t meet state standards for accreditation, academic performance or financial accountability standards, or as a result of a special investigation.

The Socorro ISD board agenda for Tuesday night listed case numbers for eight separate Texas Education Agency special investigations between 2020 and 2023. The agenda provided no details about the investigations, though the district has previously acknowledged an ongoing TEA investigation, started in 2020, into whether students were allowed to graduate without meeting state requirements.

TEA on Wednesday appointed a conservator to oversee IDEA Public Schools, a large charter school network based in the Rio Grande Valley that has campuses in El Paso. Education Commissioner Mike Morath said an investigation begun in 2021 found financial and operational impropriety.

The appointment comes as SISD grapples with a $33 million budget deficit,  caused partially by the school board’s decision to approve a larger compensation package than was initially recommended.

The board discussed some of the district’s options to deal with the deficit during the Tuesday meeting, including changing its health insurance plan to the state’s health insurance program.

El Paso Independent School District was placed under a state conservator in December 2012 after investigations found that poor governance by the administration and school board had allowed a widespread cheating scheme. The TEA also removed the elected EPISD board and replaced it with an appointed board of managers.

EPISD was returned to local control in 2015.

The appointment of conservators are reviewed at least every three months, according to TEA guidelines.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Socorro ISD board asks state to take over district operations appeared first on KVIA.

by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters
January 30, 2024

El Paso businessman Renard Johnson on Tuesday will become the first person to formally announce that he’s running for El Paso mayor in the November 2024 election.

“El Paso has given me so much. It's given me and my family a number of successful businesses here. It's given me my education. And my father's always said, you can't just take, take from a community. You need to give back,” Johnson, 57, said in an interview with El Paso Matters ahead of his announcement. “So I'm at a point where my business will be 30 years old next month, and I want to give back to the community. It's given me so much, and now it's time for me to give back.”

He was born in Chicago and moved to Northeast El Paso when he was 7 months old. Johnson graduated from Andress High School and the University of Texas at El Paso.

He has received the Gold Nugget and Distinguished Alumni awards from UTEP, the university’s highest honors for graduates.

Johnson is the founder METI Inc., which provides systems engineering and information technology support to the federal government and commercial customers. He also has developed real estate projects and founded the tequila brand El Perro Grande.

He is a former chair of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Johnson has never run for elective office. He acknowledges he is still becoming familiar with numerous issues that he would face as mayor, but says he will put out a plan for voters on what he would tackle in his first 100 days in office.

“I'm super excited to knock on some doors and learn from voters of their concerns and what issues we need to focus on because what Renard thinks may not necessarily be what the voters think,” Johnson said. “So I need to make sure I get in there and talk to the voters.”

Johnson will formally announce his candidacy at a rally and fundraiser Tuesday evening. He said his vision for El Paso is “a city with more opportunities.”

We should have more flights at our international airport. We should have a community with an abundance of jobs, high paying jobs. We should be retaining our youth here in the community. We should have arts, more farmers markets,” he said.

Few plan details yet 

At this point in his campaign, Johnson is providing few specifics about how he would use the mayor’s job to advance his vision. He said he has connections with state and federal leaders to help develop El Paso.

He said he thinks El Paso is “moving forward.”

“I think what our leaders have done to date, they've done a very good job. But I think there's more we can do,” Johnson said.

He pointed to recent data from the Dallas Federal Reserve that showed the number of jobs in El Paso increasing by 1.6% in 2023, about half the rate of job growth in Texas.

A potentially historic candidacy

If elected, Johnson would be El Paso’s first Black mayor. He said he hasn’t given much thought to the historic nature of his candidacy.

“I think that if I was mayor, that I would be picked for my leadership skills, my knowledge, my experience, and then I happen to be Black. I didn't look at it that way. I would put my skills before any ethnicity or anything like that,” he said. 

Incumbent Mayor Oscar Leeser cannot seek re-election this year because he has served two four-year terms, from 2013 to 2017 and 2021 to 2025. That is the maximum allowed by the City Charter.

Johnson formally appointed a campaign treasurer on Jan. 18, which allowed him to begin fundraising. The only other potential mayoral candidate to designate a campaign treasurer so far is Central El Paso resident Marco Contreras.

In the last mayoral election in 2020, Leeser and then-Mayor Dee Margo both spent more than $150,000 in a campaign that was constrained by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayoral races in El Paso traditionally draw multiple candidates, and several more candidates likely will step forward in coming months. Candidates for mayor and four City Council seats on the ballot in the Nov. 5 election must file a formal application between July 20 and Aug. 19.

‘Running as me’

The mayoral race is nonpartisan, meaning candidates don’t run under the designation of a political party. Johnson sidestepped a question about how he identifies politically.

“For this race, I'm running as me, and anyone that knows me knows that I have to be the mayor for all of the people, not just some of the people. I don't want to get put into a hole where I'm representing just a few. I want to represent everybody,” he said.

Voting records over the past 12 years show that Johnson has voted in Democratic primaries since 2012, except for 2016, when he did not vote in either party’s primary. 

Campaign finance records show that he has donated about $9,500 to candidates or political committees in Texas state races since 2005, and about $9,400 to federal candidates. 

The bulk of his donations to candidates have gone to El Paso Democrats such as Silvestre Reyes, Beto O’Rourke and Cesar Blanco. His most recent contributions have been to two Democrats seeking the Texas House District 77 race, $1,000 each to Vince Perez and Alexsandra Annello.

Johnson also has given to Republican candidates. In 2015 he donated to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, about a year after he was first elected, and to GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Businessman Renard Johnson announces run for El Paso mayor appeared first on KVIA.

by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
December 13, 2023

This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.

El Paso’s Star to Shine Again: The Star on the Mountain, which was turned off in September, will be turned back on Wednesday night, the El Paso Chamber announced. The star was turned off for energy-efficient and technology improvements by the chamber, which manages the star. One of the new features allows residents who pay to light the star in honor of a loved one or special occasion to ask for a change in its color. Also, anyone wanting to buy any of the original light bulbs can do so for $1,000, which will go toward the continued maintenance of the star. More information is available at the chamber’s website. 

El Paso Deputy City Manager Bypassed: A Northern New Mexico county has bypassed a top El Paso official in selecting its new top administrator. Tracey Jerome, El Paso’s senior deputy city manager, was one of two county manager finalists who met last week with the public in Los Alamos County, a community of about 19,000 people about an hour west of Santa Fe. The Los Alamos County Council will have a special meeting on Friday to approve the hiring of the other finalist in the search – Anne Laurent, the current deputy county manager in Los Alamos. 

Los Alamos is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the nation’s pre-eminent nuclear weapons facilities. 

EPCC to Celebrate Milestone: El Paso Community College will celebrate the awarding of its 100,000th degree during its fall commencement ceremonies at 2 and 6 p.m. Friday at the University of Texas at El Paso’s Don Haskins Center, 151 Glory Road. Graduation candidates at the ceremonies, which have a theme of “100,000 Dreams Achieved,” will receive a commemorative teal cord to wear. The college expects to award 2,101 degrees and certificates to graduates. 

Participants in the day’s first ceremony will earn degrees for associate of science or associate of applied science, as well as certificates of completion. The second ceremony will honor those who will earn degrees in associate of arts and associate of arts in teaching.

UTEP, TTUHSC El Paso Fall Commencements: The University of Texas at El Paso will recognize more than 2,700 of its summer and fall 2023 graduates from its colleges of Science, Nursing, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts and the Woody L. Hunt College of Business during ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday in the Don Haskins Center, 151 Glory Road.

Additionally, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso will honor 75 students from its Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing who earned bachelor's in nursing and two others who earned master's in nursing during a morning ceremony on Saturday in the Starlight Event Center, 6650 Continental Drive.

Border Biennial Art Fair Returns: The Border Biennial/Bienal Fronteriza 2024 art exhibit, which showcases artists from the U.S. and Mexico, returns Friday, the El Paso Museum of Art announced. The works of 50 artists from across the U.S. and Mexico – including Florida, Texas, New York, Baja California, Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua – will be displayed. Among them is borderland artist Evan Apodaca, a grantee of the Center for Cultural Power's Border Narratives Project. 

The selected artworks are tied to a variety of themes related to the region, including family, everyday life, home, gender issues, Queer identities, physical and imagined borders, migration patterns of people and wildlife. The opening reception will be at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 at the EPMA, 1 Arts Festival Plaza. The exhibit will be on display through April 14.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post The Week Ahead: El Paso’s Star on the Mountains to shine again starting Wednesday appeared first on KVIA.

by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
December 11, 2023

Genesis sat on the steps of the Union Depot in Downtown El Paso early last week, watching as dozens of recently arrived migrants like herself board buses waiting to transport them out of the region.

She wouldn’t be among them, she regretted.

“There was a mixup with the paperwork and now we don’t know what we’re going to do,” said the tearful 31-year-old mother of Albanis, 13, and Albelis, 11, as she explained that U.S. Border Patrol agents misspelled her younger daughter’s name. “They called them both Albanis.”

The incorrect paperwork prevented the Venezuelan family from boarding a state-sponsored charter bus to Denver, where Genesis hopes to find work. She was in the nursing field in Venezuela, but now is looking to work as a maid, a dishwasher or a cook – anything that will help create a stable life for her and her daughters, she said.

Until their paperwork is corrected and cleared and they can find a way out, Genesis and her daughters will bounce around area shelters or even sleep on the streets – an all-familiar story among thousands of migrants who continue to arrive at the border in waves.

“Enough is enough. How long can we keep this up?” said a man who drove up to the Union Depot to see the situation for himself after seeing a group of people walking toward the train station last week.

Four buses waited for workers to process the migrants – the vast majority on this day families with young children. 

“I feel for them, especially the children, but we can’t keep doing this,” said the man who would only identify himself as Josh, a taxpayer and a concerned citizen. 

For several days the past week, dozens of migrants again crawled through the concertina wire erected at the Rio Grande by the Texas National Guard to reach the United States through El Paso. They waited by the border wall to request asylum.

Genesis and her daughters were among them.

“Arriesgandonos la vida,” Genesis said in Spanish. “Risking our lives, risking disfiguring our faces or cutting open our heads or even losing a limb. … We risked our lives the entire journey – we all do. … That should tell you how desperate we were to leave our home countries.”

Here are 10 things to know about the migrant situation in the community a year after the region saw a tidal wave of people arrive at the border and thousands sleeping on the streets.

Are migrants still being bused out of El Paso?

Since Sept. 23, following the influx of migrants into the community and the transfer of migrants from other border cities, there have been about 300 charter buses out of El Paso.

The city of El Paso has paid for about 40 of those charters using federal funds; while the vast majority are being paid by the Texas Department of Emergency Management under Operation Lone Star.

In all, more than 13,000 migrants have been bused to New York City, Chicago and Denver from El Paso through charters since late September.

The county of El Paso is still operating its Migrant Support Services Center, which helps arrange travel for migrants who have funds to go to another city. The center has helped nearly 5,350 people in the past month alone – about 1,900 of those the week ending Dec. 3, county documents show. The center operates using federal funds.

Where are migrants being sheltered now?

The network of more than a dozen shelters with Annunciation House and the three Downtown shelters – the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, the Rescue Mission of El Paso and Sacred Heart Catholic Church – continue to house the majority of migrants passing through the community. 

Shelter operators say migrants arrive in waves – some larger than others. In the past year, some shelters have built up their facilities, capacity and network of volunteers but the need for more remains.

Is the city still using hotels for migrants?

During a major influx in September, shelters were overwhelmed and the city began putting up migrants in several hotels – up to 1,000 people at a time. Hotels were only used a few days in October and November to temporarily shelter some 20 people at a time, according to the city’s migrant dashboard.

In the past week, the city has put up to 100 migrants in hotels as shelters again saw a spike in the number of arrivals. City officials said it’s sometimes more efficient for the city to use hotels before opening up other facilities.

What happened with the shelter at Nations Tobin Recreation Center and the new emergency shelter at Morehead Middle School?

Nations Tobin was a temporary shelter, which closed because of the low number of overflow from other shelters. The El Paso Independent School District completed the sale of Morehead to the city, which is ready to use as an overflow emergency shelter if needed, city officials said in an email to El Paso Matters.

Why are migrants still sleeping on the streets around Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Segundo Barrio?

Some migrants time out of other shelters or are turned away when they’re at full capacity. Sacred Heart allows migrants to sleep inside its gym at night, giving priority to women and children because of limited space and resources, leaving others to sleep outdoors. 

Some migrants choose to sleep on the streets because they don’t want to leave the area where they told relatives who are still in custody they’d be or because they are fearful of leaving the area where they feel safe.

The city maintains six portable restrooms and large trash bins at the site, with crews cleaning the area regularly. Still, trash mounts and bad odors plague the area, neighbors complain.

Will we continue to see Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guard in the community?

The state troopers and state guards working under Operation Lone Star have been in El Paso since last December when Mayor Oscar Leeser issued a disaster declaration over the migrant humanitarian crisis. A second disaster declaration was issued in April. The Texas legislature recently infused more than a billion more dollars into the operation to put up more border barriers while keeping state troopers on the roads and Texas National Guard stationed along the Rio Grande.

Human Rights Watch, an international nonprofit that investigates civil rights abuses, recently issued a report that showed that 68% of all DPS trooper vehicle chases in the state were in 60 Operation Lone Star counties – including more than 300 in El Paso County so far this year.

What’s the latest with the SB4 immigration bill?

Senate Bill 4 – which would allow police to arrest people they suspect of entering the country illegally and allow local judges to order them to leave the country – was approved by the legislature last month.

The bill is still awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature and would likely become effective in March. Those who support the law argue it’s necessary to stop the flow of migrants, blaming President Biden and the administration for not doing enough to protect the border.

Why does SB4 face opposition?

Calling it the “show me your papers law,” opponents say it will lead to racial profiling and possibly unfairly put residents, citizens and others with authority to be in the country legally through the justice system.

“Any police encounter, whether it is a stop or consensual interaction, could lead to impermissible inquiries into someone's immigration status and lead them into the deportation pipeline,”saidAron Thorn, an attorney for the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. 

Thorn was among a group of legal experts, civil rights advocates and faith-based organizations who last week held a virtual press conference led by Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso to discuss the implications on SB4, urging the U.S. Department of Justice to step in and stop it from moving forward. 

Representatives from the ACLU of Texas said they planned to file lawsuits against SB4, calling it unconstitutional.

Will we see another major wave of migrants ahead of SB4 becoming law?

Area shelter operators say they don’t anticipate as large an influx as the record wave the border saw ahead of Title 42 expiring – in December 2022 when it was first set to expire or in May when it actually did. But they don’t rule out anything.

More than anything, said Rescue Mission of El Paso CEO Blake Barrow, it’s the worsening instability and growing insecurity in South American countries such as Venezuela that continue driving migrants to the United States.

John Martin, director of the El Paso Opportunity Center for the Homeless, said there was an increase in the number of people at area shelters the past week but couldn’t predict whether it would last.

“We’re not yet seeing the next big wave – a fourth wave,” Martin said. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

What can I do to help migrants in the community?

Shelters are in need of volunteers, monetary assistance and donations of clothing, food, blankets, toiletries and other items, especially winter jackets as colder temperatures arrive. 

The Opportunity Center and Rescue Mission also help area homeless people who are in need of assistance with the same items.

Click HERE for a few ways to help.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post More than 13,000 migrants bused out of El Paso in past three months appeared first on KVIA.

by Ramon Bracamontes, El Paso Matters
December 8, 2023

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks is playing politics with the Walmart mass shooting case, with decisions in the case being made with an eye toward getting him elected in 2024, according to the former lead prosecutor in the case who resigned in November.

“I was not given the resources to adequately prepare and clean up the case,” former Assistant District Attorney Loretta Hewitt wrote in her exit interview with the county, which was obtained by El Paso Matters. “Mr. Hicks and his administration showed no appreciation for the work I was doing. He was only concerned about making himself look good in news interviews.

“I was told shortly after being hired that every decision regarding the Walmart case would be done to get Mr. Hicks reelected to positively affect his reelection campaign.”

Hewitt, who was hired in January by Hicks, could not be reached for comment.

Hicks, who was appointed DA in December 2022 in part to get the Walmart case ready for trial, told El Paso Matters late Friday that it was disappointing to read Hewitt’s comments.

He also said that some of the things she wrote, including that she was the only one who met with all the victims and families, are simply not true.

“My number one priority was to get the Walmart case back on track,” Hicks said. “To say what she said is a cynical, horrible thing to say. In the past 11 months we’ve taken a case that was horribly handled - it was in a situation that was horrible - and we are ready to go to trial, where we can adequately protect the interests of this community.”

When Hewitt resigned in November, Hicks issued a statement saying Hewitt was the “number one attorney in charge of organizing the case, preparing the witnesses and disclosing the discovery to the defense.”

The office statement also said that Hicks was the “first chair.”

“It is important to understand that DA Hicks has always been the attorney in charge of the Walmart prosecution and will be the “First Chair” on the case when it goes to trial,” the DA’s statement said.

That November statement contradicts what Hewitt said throughout her exit interview. 

It also contradicts what Hicks told KFOX-TV during a January interview. In that interview, Hicks said Hewitt was the new team trial chief for the Walmart case. Hicks also told El Paso Inc., that Hewitt was “brought here to El Paso to lead the case for us.” 

Hicks reiterated on Friday that he is, and will be the, first chair on the case whenever it goes to trial.

“The attorneys working on this case are functioning as a team,” he said. “As for who is in charge of the strategic decisions and the broad strategy, those decisions are mine.”

Hewitt was a former Bexar County assistant district attorney in San Antonio, where she prosecuted several capital murder cases. 

“I was hired as the trial team chief of the Walmart mass shooting case and was told that I would be in charge of making all trial decisions on the case, I would be in charge of the team I supervised, and I would make the major decisions regarding getting the case ready for trial.

“The DA did not follow through with these conditions of work,” Hewitt wrote in her exit interview.

She also wrote that when it comes to prosecuting capital murder cases, she has more experience than anyone in the District Attorney’s Office, including Hicks. 

“Despite being told that I was the chief in charge of the case, I was not included in most decisions, discussions or meetings regarding the case. Instead, Mr. Hicks consulted with the Chief of Staff, Luis Rene Diaz and his friend, John Briggs,” she wrote.

“My experience and knowledge were completely disregarded by my employer, especially when I disagreed with his decisions.”

Even though Hewitt is gone, Hicks said the case remains on track.

“Everything we do is as a team and her leaving the office just means the next person steps in and does the job even better,” he said.

Hicks is the third district attorney to oversee the state case in the Aug. 3, 2019, Walmart terror attack. At least nine prosecutors who were previously in charge of the case have either resigned or moved out. 

The gunman, Patrick Crusius, pleaded guilty to various hate crimes and weapons charges in federal court. He had posted an online screed saying he was trying to “stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences after the U.S. Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty, and is currently being held at the El Paso County Detention Facility.

A date for the state trial has not been set.

Hicks was appointed district attorney by Gov. Greg Abbott after former District Attorney Yvonne Rosales resigned in December 2022 amid accusations of massive failings in her office, including the prosecution of the Walmart case.

Hicks has announced that he will seek the Republican Party nomination for DA during the March primary. Three Democrats are seeking the nomination. The primary winners will face off in November.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post DA Bill Hicks playing ‘politics’ with Walmart mass shooting case, ex-prosecutor says appeared first on KVIA.

by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, El Paso Matters
November 20, 2023

Every week in a warehouse in Central El Paso, workers at Desert Spoon Food Hub pack cardboard boxes of seasonal fruits and vegetables grown from Socorro, Texas, to Monticello, New Mexico.

Desert Spoon is the only business based in El Paso that provides community-supported agriculture, or CSA, a subscription model for local produce. Farms and vendors throughout the area offer an assortment of food if you’re looking to shop local for the holidays. And if you’re in the spirit of giving, nonprofits offer ways to donate or volunteer in the garden.

This isn’t the definitive guide to every small producer in the region, but here’s a sample of where you can find locally grown food from family farms, community gardens and CSA providers.

Aldana Farms

Lucia Aldana runs a gift shop and farm stand in Chaparral, New Mexico, open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The farm stand has sold chile peppers, pomegranates and tomatillos among other fruits and vegetables, plus fresh eggs. Aldana Farms also supplies Desert Spoon Food Hub.

Location: 648 Hermosa Dr., Chaparral, New Mexico.

Website: Aldana’s Farm Stand on Facebook

Bodega Loya and Growing with Sara Farm

Husband and wife Ralph and Marty Loya grew up along the Mission Trail in Socorro and took over the more than 100-year-old farm from Marty’s parents. Many of their crops have a personal connection to them, from the fig trees planted by Marty’s mother to the heirloom corn passed down for generations in Ralph’s family.

Growing with Sara supplies Desert Spoon Food Hub’s and La Semilla Food Center’s CSA boxes, as well as their farm store Bodega Loya open Friday through Sunday. A coffee shop where local artists can sell their work, Cafecito, also sits on the land.

Location: 10257 Socorro Road, Socorro, Texas.

Website: gwsfarm.com

Desert Spoon Food Food Hub and Spoon Flower Grocery

This nonprofit operates both a CSA and a small, brick-and-mortar store called Spoon Flower Grocery in Central El Paso. Run by Patsy Terrazas-Stallworth and her daughters, Vanessa Brady and Adriana Clowe, the business works with farmers in the regions and typically delivers more than 100 boxes a week through various programs.

El Paso chef Mateo Herrera often has a pop-up bakery at the food store. Aside from visiting the store, people can go to the nonprofit’s website to order a VSA box and add additional items, such as pantry staples.

Location: 1714 Yandell Dr., El Paso.

Website: desertspoonfoodhub.org

De Colores Farms

Yvonne Diaz grows vegetables on a small plot in southern New Mexico, as well as Mexican June corn with Antonio Lara, a retired chemistry professor at New Mexico State University. De Colores Farms supplies vegetables for  La Semilla Food Center’s and Desert Spoon Food Hub’s CSA boxes, and corn to chef Mateo Herrera, who makes tortillas, tamales and pastries.

Location: Berino and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Website: instagram.com/decoloresfarms

Desierto Verde

This greenhouse grows microgreens, such as sunflower shoots and red amaranth, in East El Paso. Petite but packed with nutrients, microgreens can spruce up salads, tacos, smoothies, soups and other dishes. People can purchase microgreens online for pickup or delivery. Desierto Verde also supplies local CSA programs.

Location: 1500 Likins Dr., El Paso.

Website: desiertoverde915.square.site

Full Circle Mushrooms

Founder Ximena Zamacona started experimenting with growing mushrooms on her husband’s family pecan farm in 2019. The project has since blossomed into a team that grows around 450 pounds of mushrooms a week, including oyster, shiitake, lions mane and chestnut.

You can find their mushrooms at the Las Cruces farmers market on Saturdays, as well as Bodega Loya in Socorro and Spoon Flower Grocery in El Paso. Check their website for a full list of where to find them.

Location: La Mesa, New Mexico.

Website: fullcirclemushrooms.com

O.G. Farms 

Former El Paso landscaper Andre Gutierrez rotates crops on land he shares with his father, who manages livestock. He follows organic principles and specializes in fruits and vegetables that can thrive in dry conditions, such as tigger melons. His products can be found through La Semilla Food Center and Desert Spoon Food Hub.

Location: Anthony, New Mexico.

Website: instagram.com/og_farms

Planty for the People and One Grub Community Diner

Adriana Wilcox manages Planty for the People, an educational nonprofit extension One Grub Community Diner, a vegan restaurant run by her husband, chef Roman Wilcox. Planty for the People teaches people how to grow food with organic practices in the desert and includes a garden outside the El Paso restaurant, which Adriana and volunteers maintain. 

A few products can be purchased from the restaurant’s grab-and-go fridge. On Saturdays the restaurant hosts a mini farmers market. The nonprofit also sells seeds.

Location: 901 Arizona Ave., El Paso.

Website: onegrubcommunity.com

Ramirez Pecan Farm

This 10-acre pecan orchard in Clint, Texas, just outside El Paso organizes popular events throughout the year, including an annual holiday festival to pick fresh pecans. The Ramirez family purchased the pecan farm in 2001. Along with managing the orchard and selling pecans from their shop, the family also sells desserts, such as pecan pies and milkshakes.

Location: 13709 North Loop, Clint, Texas.

Website: ramirezpecanfarm.com

La Semilla Food Center

This nonprofit farm in southern New Mexico runs a CSA subscription as well as educational component, from cooking events to youth camps. La Semilla Food Center uses organic practices and emphasizes soil health by minimizing tilling and growing cover crops to replenish nitrogen. La Semilla Food Center also offers internships for budding farmers. You can purchase a CSA box online for delivery or pickup.

Location: Anthony, New Mexico.

Website: lasemillafoodcenter.org

Sun City Roots

This indoor hydroponic farm in East El Paso specializes in growing a wide variety of microgreens without pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Hydroponics is a technique for growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution instead of soil. Microgreens include sweet pea tendrils, Tokyo onion and rambo radish. People can also purchase mixed greens. Visit Sun City Roots’ website to make an order for pickup or delivery.

Location: 1531 George Dieter Dr., El Paso.

Website: suncityroots.square.site.

Taylor Hood Farms

Shahid Mustafa grows fruits and vegetables on a 2.5-acre plot shared with an artist residency in La Union, New Mexico, just west of El Paso. With Taylor Hood Farms, named after his ancestors, Mustafa continues the farming tradition of his great-grandparents in the South. He and Lindsey McKee lead workshops on regenerative agriculture to teach people about the connection between soil health and human health. You can purchase a CSA box for delivery online, as well as goat milk soap.

Location: La Union, New Mexico

Website: taylorhoodfarms.com

Tierra es Vida Community Farm

This one-acre community farm is a project under La Mujer Obrera, a civic engagement organization founded in 1981 by Chicana activists in El Paso. Weekend volunteers help maintain the farm, which provides food in the Chamizal neighborhood. The group sells food on select days at Café Mayapán, a Mexican restaurant that’s part of the organization.

Location: Café Mayapán, 2000 Texas Ave., El Paso.

Website: mujerobrera.org

Wolf Dragon Farm

This small farm in West El Paso offers microgreens and fresh-pressed juice. Typical crops include sunflower sprouts, beet sprouts and wheatgrass. You can find products from Wolf Dragon Farm every Sunday at Upper Valley Farmers Market. Weekend pickups are also available via online order.

Location: 1140 Ada Lane, El Paso.

Website: wolf-dragon-farm.square.site

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
November 27, 2023

The top issues for the four candidates seeking the District 2 City Council seat range from improving city parks to boarding up vacant buildings to ensuring migrants aren’t roaming neighborhood streets, they said.

The four candidates – Josh Acevedo, Veronica Carbajal, Ben Mendoza and Judy Gutierrez – are seeking to replace city Rep. Alexsandra Annello, who resigned to run for state representative. The winner would serve the remainder of the four-year term, which runs through the end of December 2024. City representatives are paid about $60,000 per year.

The special election for District 2, which includes parts of Northeast, Central and the Ascarate Park area, is Dec. 9. Early voting starts Nov. 27 and ends Dec. 5.

Along with the issues specific to District 2, whomever is elected will have a vote on critical decisions facing the City Council next year, including hiring a new city manager and what to do about the long stalled multipurpose cultural and performing arts center.

The City Council also sets a tax rate, adopts a budget and makes policy decisions that impact everything from streets to economic development.

Every vote will be crucial in the upcoming election as past elections have shown District 2 has low voter turnout even during presidential election years.

In the 2020 election – the last time the District 2 seat was last up for a vote – 48% of registered voters in the district cast votes in the race, compared to 55% of overall voters in El Paso County. About 11% of the people in District 2 who did vote in other races in 2020 did not cast ballots for the City Council race.

Three of the four candidates to replace Annello in the nonpartisan race have previously sought elected office unsuccessfully: Carbajal, an attorney, ran for mayor in 2020; Gutierrez, a former city staffer in District 2, lost her bid for that office in 2020 as well as for county commissioner in 2022; Mendoza, a mediator, unsuccessfully ran for the El Paso Independent School District school board and for congress. Acevedo, an EPISD board member, will have to resign from the school board if he wins the city representative seat.

El Paso District 2 Special Election: Click HERE for early voting sites, dates and times.

Campaign finance reports show Acevedo and Carbajal have raised the most funds for the race. Acevedo has received about $7,000 in political contributions from nine contributors and spent about $3,200. Carbajal has raised about $6,500 from 28 contributors and spent about $2,500. 

Mendoza has not received political contributions, according to his campaign finance report. 

Gutierrez did not file a report for the 30th day before the election, instead signing a reporting declaration form stating she does not intend to accept or spend more than $1,010 in political contributions for the election cycle.

El Paso Matters interviewed each of the candidates about pressing concerns of district residents, how they would approach the search for a permanent city manager and how the city should move forward with the Downtown arena. Candidates’ responses are in alphabetical order.

District 2 resident’s needs

Acevedo, 34, said public safety, quality of life and city staffing issues need to be addressed first.

He said he wants to address understaffing at several city departments, including the 311 program, a hotline where residents can make requests or reports to various city departments. He did not outline a specific plan to achieve that goal.

To address public safety, Acevedo said he wants to have the police chief meet with district residents about their concerns such as car thefts.

“I think the police chief needs to come through our area (and) talk to our residents and really understand their pressing public safety issues,” he said.

There are at least two parks Acevedo said need to be addressed in the area: Grandview Aquatic Center, which is currently closed, and Modesto Gomez Park built above a landfill. Acevedo said he wants to ensure Modesto Gomez gets proper grass irrigation and wants to identify funding for Grandview.

“It’s an important part of our community,” he said.

Carbajal, 47, cited stormwater runoff, vacant and abandoned homes and buildings, stray animals, streets and the need for traffic calming measures among the top issues that residents need addressed.

“This district has some of the oldest housing stock in the city, and has also suffered the consequences of urban sprawl,” Carbajal said.

To address abandoned buildings, Carbajal said the city should foreclose those that are delinquent on property taxes to put them back on the tax rolls. She also suggests investigating whether any of the abandoned buildings are in violation of city codes and talking with property owners to figure out ways to use the buildings.

“We all know that abandoned buildings – they provide room for vagrancy, they provide room for stray animals. They’re a hazard,” Carbajal said.

To address stray animals, Carbajal said the city needs to be more proactive in enforcing its existing laws. The city should also consider implementing more stringent rules for breeders who sell litters on sites such as Craigslist by requiring mandatory spay and neuter of the adult animals that are being bred and surrendering puppies to local rescues.

Carbajal also said residents have complained that district parks such as Grandview, Memorial Park, Modesto Gomez and pocket parks have issues that need to be addressed such as poor lighting, dry grass and being too close to high traffic areas. She said she would like to look for federal funding to evaluate the safety of the ground under the Modesto Gomez Park.

Gutierrez, 59, said the biggest issue that District 2 residents face is public safety concerns caused by migrants, some of whom received temporary shelter at the vacant Bassett Middle School.

“People are telling me they can't sit in their front yard or front porch, because they don't feel safe and a large part of that is the migrant community being able to wander the streets,” Gutierrez said.

The middle school was to serve as an overflow shelter for migrants in late December and again in May and had room for up to 1,000 people. It remained mostly empty and was last used as a shelter in May.

“We've got to get those migrant centers out of the neighborhood…We cannot continue to have them in our backyard. That (public) safety component is one of my number one priorities,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez did not expand on how to address shelter needs for migrant influxes.

Gutierrez also cited stray animals as a concern. She said that while she has not seen stray animals in the streets, she wants to look into the operations of the city shelter to find ways to address the issue of strays mentioned to her by district residents. 

She also said if she is elected, she plans to donate her take-home pay to various causes or organizations, starting with the city’s animal shelter. Gutierrez said she earns enough from her retirement and income from a vacation rental in Canutillo to be able to afford to give up her city paycheck.

“That's one of the places where I first want to put my money where my mouth is because we've got to get these pets adopted and we've got to give whether it's to the foster parents or the forever parents, we need to help them to make it easier,” she said, giving extra resources such as medical procedures, pet food and other supplies will be helpful.

Mendoza, 68, said the biggest issue facing the district is a lack of “law and order.”

“There's a lot of vagrants and a lot of people are trespassing onto properties because there are a lot of vacant properties,” he said, adding that the city has to enforce trespassing laws.

Mendoza attributes the abandoned and vacant properties to high property taxes. 

“People are walking away from their properties because they can’t afford to pay their taxes,” he said. He said high property taxes need to be addressed, but did not outline a plan on how to do that.

Mendoza himself owes two years of back taxes and would have to pay the debt before being sworn into office if elected. He said since he is above age 65 he has been able to defer his taxes or make payment arrangements in the past, but is prepared to pay the remaining balance in full if necessary.

Hiring a permanent city manager

A key decision facing the City Council is hiring a permanent city manager since it fired former Tommy Gonzalez without cause in February. Cary Westin was hired to serve as interim city manager in March and was to serve until a permanent replacement is hired. But the council scrapped a bid for a national search firm in August.

Acevedo said hiring a national search firm can pose problems with producing quality candidates.

“I think the biggest issue with search firms is they bring in a lot of these recycled candidates. They've destroyed other communities and they're ready to destroy another community,” Acevedo said.

Acevedo said there needs to be a better approach, but did not say what that might be. However, he did say he would advocate for a high level of community involvement in the selection.

“I think we just need a good candidate pool with qualifications that are going to include community oriented features,” he said.

Acevedo said Westin is doing a good job with “what he’s been given.” If Westin applies for the permanent position, Acevedo said he’d review his application like any other.

Carbajal said she does not oppose a national search firm, but that the hiring process needs to be rigorous and include a high level of community involvement. She said the city’s recent process to hire El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas was not transparent and only offered one opportunity for the public as a whole to meet the finalists.

Carbajal said the city needs to invite community and business leaders to interview the city manager candidates and allow for pointed questions about their experience, how they create and implement policy and how they work with the community.

Gutierrez also said she supports a national search, but is hoping it produces El Pasoans in the candidate pool.

“If not, then we have to go with the most qualified candidate,” Gutierrez said.

Mendoza said a national search is not needed, but did not offer an alternative approach.

“Look what we ended up with the last time,” Mendoza said, referring to Gonzalez.

The Downtown arena controversy

Another major decision facing the council is the Downtown arena – the last 2012 signature bond project yet to be built.

The City Council in January abruptly voted not to build the arena in the Duranguito neighborhood following years of litigation. The city has yet to choose an alternate site, although it is considering Downtown Sun Metro properties as possible alternatives.

“I think that was a long battle and I think the city really dropped the ball on that one and they should have listened to the community,” Acevedo said of the former site.

Acevedo said the city should learn from its mistakes and get feedback from the community on the future of the project. He also said it will be difficult to stay within the $180 million budget.

The city has about $153 million left of the original bond allocation for the project. The city has spent bond funds for the center on land acquisition, appraisals, engineering fees and project consulting, among other expenses.

Acevedo said the city should consider partnering with the El Paso Independent School District for one of its properties.

“I think that school districts would all benefit from having a centrally located place that they could use for performing arts or for their sports,” he said.

Carbajal said any sports component to the project needs to be eliminated from the future project and the city needs to be more transparent about its plans.

“We all know that the sports arena and the performing arts center are two different things and sometimes they go well together and sometimes they don't,” she said, adding that a sports element will increase the cost of the project.

Carbajal said the city should consider the Judson F. Williams Convention center as the site for the project.

“I've always believed that the convention center was a much better option for the use of this money,” she said.

Gutierrez said sticking to the remaining budget is more important than the location of the project.

“I think that we have learned from our mistakes, and almost $4 million later in attorney fees, that we need to be more respectful of where we're going to put that arena,” she said. She added that she would not support eminent domain and relocating residents from their homes to build the arena.

Mendoza said if the project is going to be a success, it needs to be on a large scale.

“If you're going to build something, build it grand, it needs to be something big,” he said.

Mendoza said a small 4,000 seat stadium, for example, will not benefit the community. He said in order to get more money for the project the city should consider partnering with a national sponsor and have them invest in the cost difference for naming rights.

He said if that approach does not work, then the city should hold off on the project until it has the funds to make the project worthwhile, although he did not say where additional funds would come from.

“It may not be for another five (years) or another 10 (years), but it’d be grand,” he said.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Who are the 4 candidates vying for District 2 on City Council? appeared first on KVIA.

by Diego Mendoza-Moyers, El Paso Matters
December 3, 2023

El Paso households could see their water utility bills rise by $3.54 per month on average beginning in March, the 10th consecutive year that bills will increase as El Paso Water works its way through a massive and costly renovation of the city’s water systems, the utility’s preliminary budget shows.

The Public Service Board, which governs El Paso Water, previewed the budget Wednesday. If the PSB approves the proposed budget in January, the bill hike would bring the average El Paso households’ water, sewer and stormwater bills to $79.56. That doesn’t include city charges for trash pickup, recycling and the city franchise fee that are also tacked onto water bills.  

Monthly residential water bills in El Paso increased on average by $9 last year and by more than $6 in 2022. Under the proposed rates, customers would pay about $220 more for water service annually compared with three years ago. 

Still, the rate increase the utility’s executives proposed this week was smaller than expected. In its five year financial plan, El Paso Water was planning to request a double-digit rate increase this year before settling on the smaller 4.7% rate hike. 

The rate was “the lowest that we could go to meet our obligations” and be able to service the utility’s debt going forward, Arturo Duran, El Paso Water’s finance chief, told PSB members. 

John Balliew, the utility’s CEO, said small annual rate hikes are “going to be the norm” going forward.  

“There might be some years where we might not have to (raise rates). But I think that that's the normal,” Balliew told El Paso Matters in an interview. “That way, it can be planned for. Businesses can build it into their budget, homeowners can build it into their budget.” 

El Paso Water’s proposed budget for next year totals about $988 million, which includes the utility’s three units: $889 million for water delivery and sewage, and $99.4 million for flood control. That total is an increase from the utility’s $954 million budget last year, and more than double El Paso Water’s $493 million budget for the fiscal year that began in March 2020. 

The $3.54 average bill increase applies to the utility’s nearly-200,000 residential customers. El Paso Water also has about 53,000 industrial, governmental or wholesale customers that pay different rates depending on their meter size. 

Driving the big increase in spending at El Paso Water is the utility’s multi-year capital improvement plan. El Paso Water is updating much of the city’s water infrastructure – especially the wastewater system and treatment plants – by replacing aging pipes and lining earthen drainage ponds with concrete, for example.

But the big-ticket item on the utility’s budget is the ongoing expansion of the Roberto R. Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Lower Valley – a project to boost output from the plant from 39 million gallons daily to 51 million gallons per day. The project is expected to cost $776 million over the next 5 years. 

The Bustamante plant, which treats East Side sewage, began approaching its maximum capacity a few years ago amid growth in that part of town, so the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the utility to expand the facility.  

“We're on schedule, well underway,” Balliew said of the Bustamante project. “It's unbelievable, the scale of what we're talking about at Bustamante. It's just a massive project.”

After El Paso Water in 2021 accelerated the pace of its stormwater improvement plan to be completed in 10 years instead of 20 years, the water utility has been spending about $70 million annually on flood control projects such as new drainage ponds and pipes. That will continue for another seven years, Balliew said.

El Paso Water proposed raising the stormwater fee on households’ monthly bill from $5.66 to $6.40 to cover the accelerated spending. 

However, El Paso Water wants to secure this latest rate increase not only to pay for a range of construction projects, but also to satisfy the rating agencies – Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings – that evaluate the utility’s finances and determine the interest rate that El Paso Water must pay on the debt it issues to fund day-to-day operations. 

El Paso Water is trying to strike a balance between preventing customers’ bills from becoming unaffordable, while also hiking rates enough to prove to rating agencies that the utility will have healthy finances going forward. El Paso Water has a strong AA+ credit rating, and in notes published in May, ratings analysts largely praised the utility’s financial health. 

Even so, Fitch analysts said that the utility’s bond rating “could be pressured if rate increases aren't implemented as planned or fail to generate” enough additional cash to pay off debt. And even before the utility requested the rate hike this week, analysts with S&P warned in May that El Paso Water’s rates were “approaching moderately expensive when compared to the service area's incomes and elevated poverty rates.” 

“The negative outlook reflects our view of the El Paso utility system's weakened financial position and pressured rate affordability moving forward,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst John Schulz wrote in a note. 

However, Balliew said even if the utility saw its credit rating downgraded one notch, it would have little impact. And longer-term, it’s possible El Paso Water will seek fewer or smaller rate increases once big projects like the Bustamante Plant expansion or the utility’s Advanced Water Purification Facility are completed. 

“One good thing is that when we get over the hump of these treatment plants, that's going to take off a lot of the pressure on the rates,” Balliew said. 

The median household income in El Paso is $53,424, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent estimate. At the proposed rates that would raise household water and sewer bills to $79.56 on average, or $954.72 annually, water costs would account for 1.78% of the median household income in El Paso. That’s still below the 2% threshold that federal water regulators consider affordable for households.

Over the next year, consulting firm Raftelis will work with El Paso Water to “completely take a new look” at the utility’s rates and how it bills customers, which could result in some changes in 2025, Balliew said. 

The plan is to establish a public committee in the months ahead to propose changes to rates. That could include changing the utility’s block structure – in which customers pay more per unit of water after using a certain amount of water every month – because too few customers now are in the biggest-user block thanks to conservation. The utility could look at smaller tweaks, as well, such as reporting water usage on bills in gallons rather than in “CCF,” or 100 cubic feet.

“We'll have some sort of committee to oversee that process. And there'll be a number of public meetings that we’ll do,” Balliew said.

None among the seven-member Public Service Board was critical of the budget presented Wednesday. The group will vote on the annual budget on Jan. 10, and if approved, the elevated rates would take effect at the start of the next fiscal year, which begins March 1.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
December 5, 2023

The race to represent District 2 on the El Paso City Council has proved challenging for candidates both at the polls and in their campaign coffers: Only about 750 people have voted so far and candidates have raised less than $25,000 combined.

Josh Acevedo, an El Paso Independent School Board trustee, has raised about $14,000 in political contributions over the last two reporting periods, campaign finance reports show. Veronica Carbajal, an attorney, has raised about $10,700 over the same period.

Judy Gutierrez, a retired city staffer for the District 2 office, did not file campaign finance reports. Gutierrez signed a reporting declaration form stating she does not intend to accept or spend more than $1,010 in political contributions for the election cycle. That amount is the cap that can either be raised or spent before campaign finance reports must be filed.

Gutierrez said she has received three in-kind donations totaling less than about $500 for campaign signs.

“I haven't had to file anything yet, but I will,” she said, adding she is anticipating another in-kind donation that may put her above the $1,010 threshold.

The fourth candidate, Ben Mendoza, a mediator, did not receive any donations for the filing period.

The District 2 race has seen low voter turnout with only 1.6% of District 2 registered voters, or 745, casting a ballot as of Sunday, including 254 mail-in ballots. There are 47,762 registered voters in District 2. Early voting ends Tuesday. The special election is Saturday.

“It’s been hard,” Acevedo said, adding he has been doing a lot of work on his campaign to raise money as well as to educate District 2 residents on where they can cast their ballots.

The special election was called after city Rep. Alexsandra Annello resigned to run for state office. The winner would serve the remainder of the four-year term, which runs through the end of December 2024. Annello will serve until the newly elected representative is sworn into office, which remains unclear because there could be a runoff.

Acevedo has received donations from 18 donors over the last two filing periods, including $2,500 from the Texas Association of Realtors.

He raised about $7,700 in the most recent reporting period and about $6,800 in the previous filing period. Contributions ranged from $150 to $2,500. His top donors included Jesus and Lorena Duarte who gave $2,000 and Ted Houghton who gave $1,000. El Paso County Commissioner David Stout donated $250.

Carbajal raised $5,015 in the current filing period and $5,705 in the previous filing period; she also received $785 in in-kind political contributions for the use of a van from the Justicia Fronteriza political action committee, which she co-founded. Carbajal resigned from the PAC board before announcing her candidacy. The PAC also pledged $1,000 for printing to be paid directly to the vendor, documents show.

She received donations from about 60 donors ranging from $10 to $1,000. Her top donors include Kitty Spalding, who gave $1,000 and former State Senator Jose Rodriguez, who donated $500.

Documents also show Carbajal loaned her campaign about $290. Her recent campaign finance report shows she paid herself $280 for canvassing, but she filed an amended report correcting that information.

“There is a payment to the canvasser and it somehow must have auto populated my information with hers,” Carbajal said. “You cannot spend any money on yourself with the campaign contributions. That's my understanding. That's been my practice.”

The El Paso Progress political action committee formed in opposition to Carbajal and led by Ysleta Independent School District trustee Christopher Hernandez reported $150 in political contributions from Enoch Kimmelman, Starr Western Wear owner and owner of Shoppes at Solana LLC, formerly Sunland Park Mall.

The PAC also lists $2,747.48 in “unpaid incurred obligations.”

“It’s money that I owe to those vendors,” Hernandez said.

The debts to the vendors are for about $2,200 to Airport Printing Service and $350 to Cognent, a tech firm based in Florida.

Hernandez has been sending mailers and text messages to District 2 voters in opposition of Carbajal and in favor of Gutierrez.

Hernandez said he is supporting Gutierrez because he knows her from her work for the District 2 office before she retired and disagrees with Carbajal’s platform. He said he has not communicated with Gutierrez.

Hernandez is also running Judge Alma Trejo's campaign for district attorney.

More information:
Click here for a list of election day voting sites. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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by Daniel Perez, El Paso Matters
December 5, 2023

Update, Dec. 7, 10 a.m.: This story has been updated with additional comments.

The University of Texas at El Paso announced Tuesday morning that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has lifted the warning status it placed on UTEP’s accreditation.

“This weekend the board formally accepted our response and the warning status was removed,” wrote UTEP Provost John Wiebe in an email to university faculty and staff.

SACSCOC’s Board of Trustees issued the sanction last summer after it decided that UTEP had not provided enough documentation in five areas: full-time faculty, program length and qualified administrative/academic officers, as well as program faculty and program coordination. The board called it “significant non-compliance.”

Wiebe’s email went on to stress that at no time in the process did the accreditation agency request that UTEP make any changes to how it operates, and added that its decision affirms the university’s academic quality.

Accreditation is important to a higher education institution because it ensures an acceptable level of quality, provides access to state and federal funding, and makes it easier to transfer credits.

Belle Wheelan, SACSCOC president, said she was excited for UTEP.

“I know they worked hard to come back into compliance with our standards and will continue to remain in compliance going forward,” Wheelan said.

Andrew Fleck, president of UTEP’s Faculty Senate, said professors and instructors were concerned that the university had not put its best foot forward initially in the process, but were pleased that the university’s responses helped SACSCOC to understand how the institution meets its goal of offering an enriching education to its students.

The university submitted its response to SACSCOC in September. It answered each concern and included a lot of backup material to include UTEP’s Handbook of Operating Procedures and its 2,622-page 2021-22 catalog.

“We know that we do good work and want to make sure those who evaluate us understand how effectively we do it,” Fleck said. “I think most people understood this hiccup as a disconnect in communication that would be clarified when additional information was submitted.”

This was the second time in five years that the agency issued a warning status, the lightest sanction possible, against UTEP. At that time, a lack of qualified full-time faculty also was an issue.

Fleck, an associate professor of English, said that his colleagues would appreciate more full-time faculty to serve the students and keep them on their academic paths. He said UTEP is in the process of recruiting a significant number of full-time colleagues, but did not mention a figure.

“The move toward employing talented colleagues in part-time roles is a long term trend in higher education, but UTEP is fortunate to have excellent colleagues in its part-time ranks,” Fleck said. 

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post SACSCOC removes ‘warning’ from UTEP’s accreditation status appeared first on KVIA.

by Special to El Paso Matters, El Paso Matters
August 15, 2023

By Ismael Lopez

I know what it’s like to feel like the only communication tool I have is anger. When I was a Marine stationed in Gotemba, Japan, augmenting a security unit, I was severely injured during a training exercise. I was young and angry at my own helplessness, and my solution was to self-medicate with alcohol. I lashed out at my fellow Marines, got in fights, and lost my off-base privileges. It got bad enough that I had to enroll in a treatment program for alcohol use or face being kicked out of the military.

That experience shaped my understanding of mental health, and I credit it with shaping the rest of my military career. I spent years in uniform sharing my story with different units and breaking down the stigma against mental health in the military. I focused on community and team mentality because no one ever gets stronger, healthier, or happier alone. 

That idea is really central to the work I do now at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors, El Paso. I left the military after four years but knew I wanted to continue serving my military community.

As the outreach director, I still get to help my fellow veterans by connecting them to Endeavors’ services that will help them thrive in the civilian world: clinical care, transitional resources, support groups, and skills classes.

Our approach to mental health is based on the idea that mental health care isn’t one-size-fits-all. Talk therapy won’t be the most beneficial path for everyone. So we offer yoga, art therapy, and play therapy for children. We’ve recently revamped our pet therapy program in partnership with the United Way – the four-week course uses the 5 Love Languages to teach veterans five different ways to communicate with their dog. 

It’s amazing how learning to communicate with a pet can build someone’s confidence, and improve their ability to navigate social relationships. 

As a veteran – and a professional working with veterans – I think a lot about the challenges my fellow vets are facing in today’s world.

The list is long. Homelessness. Mental health issues. Substance use disorders. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors. 

And consider this: Major depression rates are five times higher among service members than among civilians, and veterans have a 57% higher chance of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The American Addiction Centers cite mental health, anger, and anxiety as the top causes of veteran suicide. Sometimes that anger comes from loss, or the anxiety stems from combat-related stress.

At Endeavors, we’re trying to open the conversation about these challenges. And change the statistics.

In the military, we are all trained in the same emotional language and mentality. We build some of the closest relationships of our lives in uniform. But once we leave that high-stakes environment, the language changes. The way human beings interact in the civilian world is vastly different than the social structure of the military. And veterans are the ones who – already figuring out a new job, a new lifestyle, a new home – have to figure out a new way to communicate, too.

So many of us have been trained to communicate in direct, harsh, assertive terms that we as brothers and sisters in arms are used to and understand. It’s our language. But outside of the military, that one-dimensional communication style doesn’t work. It can be harmful to our relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. 

In addition to low- to no-cost mental health care with licensed clinicians, the Cohen Clinic at Endeavors offers life skills classes to transitioning service members, post-9/11 veterans, and their family members to help build up the soft skills that they may not learn in the military. We offer parenting classes, marriage management, financial planning, and de-escalation classes. Many Veterans live with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that creates additional challenges. 

Many veterans are in school, working, and raising families. I tell them to take pride in all these skills they have already. They just need to figure out how to communicate those skills with others. Veterans are amazing problem solvers and leaders, and if they can communicate with others across the military-civilian divide, they’re unstoppable. 

At Endeavors, our promise to the community is that we will continue to develop and offer programs that meet the ever-evolving needs of our defense community, including Veterans, active duty members, first responders, and their families. In 2025, Endeavors will open a Veteran Wellness Center for comprehensive wellness under one roof in El Paso.

If you’d like to get involved in our mission, visit endeavors.org/cohen-clinic-el-paso to make a donation that will help us offer more art classes, dog training programs, and yoga events for the community.  Help us serve those who served – and make a difference here in El Paso.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Veteran mental health care goes beyond talk therapy appeared first on KVIA.

by Special to El Paso Matters, El Paso Matters
September 20, 2023

By Adriana Chavarria and Sylvia Hernandez/Challenge Program co-directors    

Fifteen years ago, The Challenge Foundation partnered with Loretto Academy to develop the Loretto Academy Challenge Program. At the core of the Challenge Program’s mission is our unique approach to empower students through equitable access to education, experiential learning, and mentorship, inspiring Challenge Scholars to pursue their goals and chart their own course. Challenge takes a whole-student approach, awarding tuition scholarships and individualized support services to students from underserved communities.

Our comprehensive admission process takes into account strengths, need, and fit for each student and family, to determine scholarship eligibility. 

Based on the need in our community, the application process is competitive, and Challenge is committed to a thoughtful and thorough review of each applicant. Four gifted-yet-under-served fourth-grade students are selected each year to receive a full scholarship to attend Loretto Academy beginning with her sixth-grade year through high school. 

After high school graduation, Challenge provides college scholarships and ongoing support to our Scholars. Parental commitment and support are essential to the student and the program’s success.

The program’s short-term goal is for Challenge Scholars to graduate from Loretto Academy, apply to college, and obtain sufficient financial assistance.

The long-term goal is for each Challenge Program Scholar, as a college graduate, to be confident in her journey, to engage in continuous learning and growth, while fostering a community of inclusivity where she has a strong sense of belonging.

“Each scholar brings to the table her own unique gifts and talents. This is an invitation to the community at large, to join us, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves by taking an active role in leveling the playing field, and helping a young woman find her voice!” said Sylvia Hernandez, Loretto Class of ‘81.

“Because of my scholarship, I’ve had many new opportunities. I’ve met many new people and have tried many new things. It is a very rewarding and meaningful thing to me because not many people get the opportunity to try out for a scholarship as special as this one,” said Isabelle Labrado, Loretto class of 2026. “I am very blessed to have been able to be one of the four who got it. It has changed my life in ways I will always remember. I encourage others to try out for it because it has given me such an amazing opportunity that I will always be grateful for.”

You are invited to join the 15-year celebration of Loretto Academy Challenge Program by donating to the program during El Paso Giving Day. Mark your calendars and remember to give from Oct. 12-19. You can donate by clicking here. 

Your generous gift of support celebrates each Scholar and is appreciated beyond measure.To nominate someone for the Loretto Academy Challenge Program or learn how you can help provide support – mentorship, internship or financial – contact Challenge Program Directors Sylvia Hernandez ‘81 at shernandez@loretto.org or Adriana Chavarria at achavarria@loretto.org. Either can be reached at (915) 566-8400.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Loretto Academy Challenge Program empowers young women to reach their dreams appeared first on KVIA.

by Diego Mendoza-Moyers, El Paso Matters
November 16, 2023

County officials are planning to drain and clean the lake at Ascarate Park as the first step in a potentially major renovation of the 400-acre, 83-year-old park in the coming years. 

Deadly algae blooms have plagued the fish population within the 48-acre Ascarate Lake periodically over recent years, when dozens or hundreds of fish die and float to the lake’s surface. But the El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday agreed to pay the engineering firm AECOM $93,000 to study water quality at the lake on 6900 Delta Drive and figure out how to best drain and dredge the body of water. The county set aside funding to pay for the study and part of the dredging project back in May 2022. 

After the water quality study is completed in January, the county will likely have to pay a contractor between $6 million to $7 million to dredge up sediment, trash and plant debris and clean Ascarate Lake and the adjacent duck pond, according to El Paso County Commissioner David Stout, who represents the area. 

“We're going to, basically, clean the lake up completely,” Stout told El Paso Matters in an interview. “It's probably going to be the single largest project that we've done at Ascarate park for many, many years.”

Stout said anglers should expect the lake to remain closed for “a number of months” while the dredging project is underway. The county will start soliciting offers from contractors likely early next year. 

The county will set a timeline and start date for the project after AECOM presents its study in January.

“At this time there are no plans to close the lake or do any dredging until the study is completed,” Lidia G. Arias Banach, a civil engineer for the county’s Public Works Department, said in an email.

The county’s plan is to keep the duck pond open and stocked with fish while the larger lake is closed, and then later dredge the pond when the lake reopens. 

Organizations have studied the water quality and algae problem at Ascarate Lake and offered different solutions over the years, including a study published by researchers at UTEP in early 2020 that said the county should establish artificial islands made up of African iris plants to help prevent algae blooms and protect the lake’s aquatic life.

But Stout said the proposed dredging project presents a larger investment than any other past efforts to study water quality at Ascarate or clean the lake. 

“We've tried over the years to bring more investment into the park, and I think it's been good, but spending $6 million or $7 million on one project has not been done in a long time at the park,” Stout said. 

The dredging project is the first in what Stout said he hopes will be a series of renovations and modernizations that the county will eventually implement at Ascarate Park. The county crafted a master plan in 2021 for county-owned parks and sports facilities, which identified around $73 million of needed upgrades at the different sites – the vast majority at Ascarate.

County administrators are exploring how much debt the county can issue to potentially finance the park’s renovation, but without boosting the tax rate or degrading the county’s relatively strong bond rating.

Stout said El Paso County could issue over $100 million in debt over the next two years in part to pay for possible amenities at Ascarate Park, such as a bridge spanning the lake or an arboretum, as well as for more basic repairs like burying overhead electrical wires and replacing parts of the lake’s deteriorating wall. 

“We have up to about $130 million left in bonding capacity that we can do over the next couple of years that will go to pay for a lot of these projects, but will keep us at the 5 cent” debt service tax rate, Stout said. 

The county’s tax rate is 45.9 cents per $100 property valuation. Of that, about 5 cents goes to pay off the bond debt. Because the county will pay off old debt before taxpayers would begin paying off the new bonds, the 5 cent debt service rate would remain the same.

El Paso County currently carries about $256 million of outstanding debt, according to a  recent presentation to county commissioners by financial advisors at the investment bank Stifel. 

County Commissioners are eyeing a bond election next November. Commissioners will decide which among dozens of potential county projects they want to prioritize, and then ask voters next November whether or not to fund the proposed projects, such as upgrades at Ascarate Park. 

“I’m definitely going to be advocating for trying to do this sooner rather than later,” Stout said of dredging Ascarate and upgrading the park. “It all depends upon the will of the court, and how much money we're willing to put towards this.”

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post El Paso County looks to drain, dredge Ascarate Lake as first step in park’s renovation appeared first on KVIA.

by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
November 14, 2023

After a record-hot summer in El Paso, the winter holiday event season is a welcome reprieve. From the city’s WinterFest to the county’s Lights on the Lake, here’s a roundup of the big events happening across the Borderland to celebrate the holiday season:

Magic of Lights: Families can drive-through holiday-themed illuminated displays and more than 2 million lights starting Friday through Dec. 31 at the parking lot of Camp Cohen, 9700 Gateway North Blvd. Magic of lights will be open from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and 5:30 to 10 p.m. Fridays to Sundays through Dec. 7; and until 10 p.m. daily starting on Dec. 8. Tickets start at $25 per vehicle at the gate; discount if purchased online. The event is a new attraction to the El Paso WinterFest festivities by Destination El Paso with Family Entertainment Holdings.

El Paso WinterFest: WinterFest, the city of E Paso’s annual winter holiday event, kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 at San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown with music by the Fort Bliss 1st Armored Division Band and St. Anthony’s Franciscanos Choir. The tree lighting ceremony is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the Scherr Legate Lights Parade at 6 p.m. WinterFest will feature lights displays, ice-skating, music and entertainment, arts and food vendors and more daily through Jan. 1 at San Jacinto Plaza and the Arts Festival Plaza by the El Paso Museum of Art. Free admission; ice rink prices vary. Special activities at the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso Museum of History, El Paso Zoo, El Paso International Airport and aboard the El Paso Streetcar.

Sun Bowl Parade: The Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers Sun Bowl Parade starts at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23 along Montana Avenue from Ochoa Street to Copia Street. This year’s theme is “Rock ‘N Roll Extravaganza” and the grand marshal is Tuff Hedeman, the bull riding champion and professional rodeo cowboy from El Paso. The parade will air live on KTSM Channel 9 and online at ktsm.com.

Holiday Lights on the Lake: Holiday Lights on the Lake Spectacular, by the county of El Paso and Fred Loya Partners, kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24 at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive, and will again feature the popular Fred Loya synchronized light show. The holiday display will be open for walk-throughs or drive-throughs from 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily through Jan. 6; with synchronized light shows 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays to Sundays to Dec. 24, as well as on Monday, Dec. 25. Free admission; vendor prices vary.

Holiday Movies at WinterFest: Presented by the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival, holiday movie favorites like “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” will be shown at various days and times from Sunday, Nov. 26 to Sunday, Dec. 24 at the Plaza Theatre Kendle Kidd Performance Hall and the El Paso Museum of Art Auditorium. Movies at the Plaza Theatre will be preceded by a 30-minute performance by Richard Garven on the Wyler Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. Free admission.

City of Socorro WinterFest: The city of Socorro’s lights parade begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1 at Sanchez Middle School and ends at the Rio Vista Community Center. The city’s WinterFest follows at the center with food vendors, games, rides, art and crafts, live entertainment and pictures with Santa.

City of Las Cruces Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony: The event is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at Plaza de Las Cruces, 100 N. Main Street in Las Cruces with the tree lighting at 7 p.m. Live music, entertainment, food trucks and activities. Free admission. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” will be shown at 8 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Main Street, Las Cruces. Movie is $5 per person. 

Other upcoming events include the annual Luminaria Festival and Posada Celebration in San Elizario and the Centennial Lions Club Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting event in Horizon. Details are pending.

This list will be updated as more events are announced. Send your announcement to cramirez@elpasomatters.org to be added.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post WinterFest, Lights on the Lake kick off El Paso winter holiday events appeared first on KVIA.

by Puente News Collaborative, El Paso Matters
October 4, 2023

By Blanca Carmona / La Verdad

Ciudad Juárez – Hundreds of migrants spent the night stranded on a strip of land and overgrown grass between the Rio Grande and the concertina wire fence installed by the Texas National Guard on Tuesday waiting to enter the United States to request asylum.

Hundreds more camped along the border wall in front of Gate 36 near Fonseca Drive, including men, women, teenagers, young boys and girls, some in their parent’s arms.

Most arrived at the border by train and managed to get around an operation deployed Tuesday by Mexico’s National Migration Institute in conjunction with the municipal police and the Mexican National Guard. Carrying batons and firearms, officers from the various agencies set up a human chain and lined their vehicles along the river to prevent migrants from crossing into the United States.

But a large group of migrants rushed past them, and once on U.S. territory, set up makeshift camps next to the concertina wire fence waiting to be allowed to continue toward the border wall and request asylum.

“We took the risk and crossed the Rio Grande, and the only thing we need is to cross the barbed wire here,” said a Venezuelan migrant who arrived in Juárez by train on Tuesday and managed to get past hundreds of Mexican police and immigration agents. “We have to wait now for what happens, for the Americans to authorize the crossing on the other side.”

Arriving by train

The police operation was carried out a few hours after hundreds of migrants arrived at the Juárez border aboard the cargo train managed by Ferromex. 

At about 1:30 p.m., dozens of migrants, primarily Venezuelans, got off the train cars after having traveled for days. The majority headed directly to the river, following rumors that they could surrender to the U.S. Border Patrol there.

Instead, they encountered the human wall of law enforcement agents.

“They don't let us cross to that side. The Mexican authorities don't let us cross. … If we move to one side, they move with us. If we turn back, then they do it too," said Gleaner Cisneros, who boarded the train in Torreón, Coahuila, along with his wife, his two brothers and their wives.

The operation was led by Manuel Alfonzo Marín Salazar, head of the migration institute in Chihuahua, who in statements to journalists said that the strong police presence was intended to ensure migration would be carried out in an orderly manner. The statement also said law enforcement agents sought to bring migrants to a shelter to prevent them from spending the night next to the Rio Grande.

Juárez police officials in a press release said they participated in the operation to support migration institute personnel.

Migrants said they use the train because it’s economical and are less likely not to be returned to southern Mexico by migration institute personnel – and they feel safer traveling in large numbers.

“Thank goodness the train stopped and we had to board there because if it hadn't, it would have been quite hard. I have two children,” said Maricarmen Tovar, adding that she wants to get to Washington where her husband is waiting for her.

Another migrant, Orlando Cisneros, said boarding the train was a risk he had to take.

“It was an incredible journey, my friend,” he said. “We barely boarded the train and a group of Mexicans, unfortunately, not all of them are bad, but a group of bad Mexicans got together. and they robbed us. They stole my cell phone, my backpack, everything. The only thing I have with me is what you see there, which is food. … The journey was tough, but I think it will be worth it.”

The migrants said they rode the slow-moving train for about 17 hours, adding that some authorities tried to force them to get off before they reached this border.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Migrants break past human wall, vehicle barriers in Juárez to get to U.S. side of Rio Grande appeared first on KVIA.

by El Paso Matters Staff, El Paso Matters
September 29, 2023

This is your Friday Update, which takes a quick look at some developments that El Paso Matters is following.

UTEP Dinner Theatre’s Final Curtain Call: The University of Texas at El Paso is ending its long-running and award-winning dinner theater program. “UTEP Dinner Theatre has been a staple on campus for theatre goers over the past 40 years. That was in part due to the stewardship and promotion of theatre arts by Greg Taylor, who after a long career, has decided to retire,” Anadeli Bencomo dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said in an email to dinner theater supporters. Bencomo said UTEP is “currently planning what transformations will take place, how performances will be invigorated, and what the best avenue will be to showcase the talent of our students, faculty, and community partners.” 

The dinner theater was founded in 1983. Its performance of the musical “Chess” in 1989-90 won several awards, including being selected to be staged at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the American College Theatre Festival. The UTEP Dinner Theater’s final season opens Oct. 6 with “Damn Yankees.” Other performances this season have not been announced.

FBI El Paso Agent In Charge Named: John Morales, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, has been named the new special agent in charge of the agency’s El Paso Field Office.

Since 2022, he has served as deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. Morales earned bachelor’s degrees in bio-medical science and microbiology, as well as master’s degrees in finance, accounting, and industrial management from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico.

He succeeds Jeffrey Downey as special agent in charge in El Paso. Downey was reassigned to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Texas Regulator OKs El Paso Electric Bill Increase: El Paso households’ monthly electric bills will rise by $3 on average after El Paso Electric got approval this week from Texas regulators to recoup from customers the money that the utility has spent building the Newman 6 natural gas-fired power plant unit in the far Northeast. Average household electric bills will climb to $97, likely beginning early next year, once the Newman 6 plant is up and running. El Paso Electric this week said Newman 6 is scheduled to start generating power in December – six months later than the utility anticipated. 

A Texas consumer advocate agency and the city of El Paso sought to limit how much EPE could charge customers for the new plant, which will cost tens of millions of dollars more to build than El Paso Electric initially estimated. But the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved EPE’s bill hike, at least for now. The coming bill increase is meant to collect $157 million that El Paso Electric spent building Newman 6 as of the end of 2022, and the utility next year plans to boost bills again to collect the money it spent in 2023 constructing the new power plant – possibly another $35 million or so, according to the utility’s cost estimates. EPE will profit a return of $11.9 million annually on the cash it has so far invested to build the plant.

Honor Flight Returns: The Mission 16 Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico and El Paso returns Saturday with 30 Korean War and Vietnam War Veterans. The community is invited to welcome the veterans after their trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials built to honor and remember those who served. The trip was made to provide closure, healing and a community welcome, officials said in a press release. El Pasoans are encouraged to take signs, flags and well wishes for the veterans at 2 p.m. Saturday at the main lobby of the El Paso International Airport. Visit HonorFlightNM.org for more information.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Final curtain call: UTEP Dinner Theatre program to end this season appeared first on KVIA.

by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
September 30, 2023

Summer weather may be stubbornly sticking around, but fall has officially arrived.

Mazes across El Paso and southern New Mexico open in late September for the 2023 season, followed by various haunted houses, carnivals, parades and festivals celebrating Halloween and Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

Here’s where you can find some fall family fun across the Borderland.

MAZES

Area mazes – not always made of corn stalks – offer a variety of pumpkin patches, mazes, games, rides, food trucks and entertainment. Check each venue for activities, prices and other details.

El Paso Corn Maze, 1100 Nuevo Hueco Tanks Road

Sept. 30-Oct. 29: 1-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 

On social: @elpasocornmaze on Facebook and Instagram

La Union Maze, 1101 Hwy. 28, Anthony, New Mexico

Sept. 23-Nov. 5: 5-9 p.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

On social: @launionmaze on Facebook and Instagram

Mesilla Valley Maze, 3855 W. Picacho Street, Las Cruces

Sept. 30-Oct. 28: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Fall Festival Oct. 7-8; Pumpkin Festival Oct. 28-29

On social: @mesillavallemaze on Facebook and Instagram

HAUNTED HOUSES

For those who enjoy feeling their hearts race, several haunted houses offer a scare – at varying degrees. Check each venue for prices, level of scare and special instructions.

Asylum Haunted Attraction, 105 S. Stanton

Oct. 5-29: Hours vary. Thursday-Sunday.

On social: Facebook

Forbidden Acres Haunted House,13161 Tobacco Drive

Oct. 1-31: 8-10:30 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays and Monday, Oct. 30; 8 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday and Tuesday, Oct. 31 

On social: Facebook and Instagram

KLAQ Haunted Houses of Terror, 13900 Montana

Sept. 28-Oct. 31: 7-10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 7 p.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday

On social: Facebook and Instagram

Murder House, 301 S. Ochoa

Oct.1-Nov. 1: 7 p.m.-midnight Thursday through Sunday

On social: Facebook and Instagram

Sheriff’s Haunted House, 3850 Justice Drive

Oct. 12-31: 6-10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 6 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday

On social: Facebook

EVENTS

The two big fall events that draw thousands include the annual KLAQ Halloween Parade and the city’s Día de los Muertos Festival & Parade, which is growing and gaining popularity each year. But there’s also a slew of other smaller events put on by area organizations. Here’s what we know so far:

Dia de los Muertos Festival & Parade, Arts Festival Plaza in Downtown

Saturday, Oct. 28. Parade begins at 4 p.m. Displays, food trucks, music, entertainment. Event details to come

On social: Instagram and Facebook

Boo at the Zoo, 4001 E. Paisano

10 a.m to 4 p.m. Oct. 28-29: Trick-or-treat, animal encounters, children’s activities.

On social: Instagramand Facebook

San Elizario Ghost Stories Tour,1501 Main Street, San Elizario

9:30-11 p.m. Oct. 28: Guided tour of haunted sites. Ghosts of the Camino Real Spirit Walks also available the first Friday of every month; “La Llorona” presentation on Oct. 14.

On social: Facebook 

KLAQ Halloween Parade, Eastwood (Album) Park, 3110 Parkwood

Oct. 31: Details to come

On social: Instagram

Concordia Heritage Association Día de los Muertos

Concordia Cemetery, 3700 E. Yandell Drive

2-4 p.m. Nov. 4: Cemetery tours with vendors, food trucks and entertainment

On social: Facebook and Instagram

This list will be updated as more events are announced. Send your announcement to cramirez@elpasomatters.org to be added.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Looking for things to do this fall? Mazes, pumpkin patches, haunted houses, Halloween, Día de los Muertos events abound appeared first on KVIA.

by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, El Paso Matters
September 27, 2023

Texas families are waiting more than 100 days to get their SNAP applications reviewed – leaving them months without assistance to feed their families, Texas congressional leaders said in a recent letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

More than 142,000 people in El Paso County are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP. The program helps low-income families purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages at grocery stores, convenience stores and farmers markets.

A delegation of 13 Democratic members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso, urged the USDA to “protect the health and livelihood of our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors,” states the letter obtained by El Paso Matters. The USDA runs SNAP at the federal level, while the Texas Health and Human Services Commission administers the program at the state level.

Whistleblowers working for the state told the delegation that delays are likely to exceed 200 days by the end of the year, according to the letter. Federal law requires states to process SNAP applications and recertifications and issue benefits to those eligible within 30 days.

Texas Health and Human Services officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the delays, with spokesman José Andrés Araiza saying the agency needed more time to respond.

In September, Texas processed 78% of SNAP applications and 65% of recertifications in a timely manner, according to data published by Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The USDA considers a timeliness rate of 95% or higher to be an acceptable performance.

“These families require immediate assistance, yet they are left in limbo for months as parents struggle to figure out how they will feed their children and are forced to make difficult tradeoffs between paying rent, utility bills, gas, and more,” reads the letter.

Starting Oct. 1, USDA Food and Service Nutrition is implementing updated escalation procedures for state agencies that fall below the acceptable performance. Procedures include technical assistance and improvement benchmarks.

The backlog in applications also puts a strain on organizations that address food insecurity.

April Rosales, social services site manager at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, said the nonprofit receives a high volume of calls from people who are checking on the status of their SNAP applications.

Every month, the food bank receives around 150 SNAP inquiries, in addition to filling out 300 new applications and recertifications, Rosales said.

The food bank helps mostly those with emergency cases – such as people whose income is less than their housing costs – fill out expedited SNAP applications, which the state is required to process and issue benefits within seven days.

But the food bank also receives people who filled out their SNAP applications elsewhere, such as their homeless shelter or other nonprofit, and have yet to receive their benefits 30 days later, Rosales said. When benefits are delayed, a team member will call 211, the social service hotline in Texas, to ask an agent to push the application through.

Disclosure: El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore is a board member for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank. The newsroom’s policy on editorial independence can be found here.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Delays in SNAP applications leave El Paso families in limbo appeared first on KVIA.

by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, El Paso Matters
September 21, 2023

Migrants who’ve risked their lives traversing through dangerous jungle and hitching rides on top of cargo trains to Ciudad Juárez are lining up daily along the border wall to present themselves to U.S. Border Patrol – and get the chance at a new life in the United States.

Many of them leave behind homes in Latin America that are suffering from economic collapse, government corruption and paramilitary violence.

The U.S. Border Patrol in the El Paso sector, which spans El Paso County and all of New Mexico, is encountering more than a thousand migrants on a daily basis, according to the city’s data. Last week the city of El Paso used federal funds to shelter more than 700 people in hotel rooms as nongovernment organizations reached shelter capacity. The city also set up an emergency shelter at Nations-Tobin Recreation Center in Northeast El Paso.

While most migrants want to pass through El Paso and onto their desired destination, many don’t have the resources to pay for plane or bus tickets out of the city or for basic necessities such as food, water and medication.

Community organizations are once again mobilizing to provide humanitarian aid during their stay in El Paso. If you want to help, here’s how you can.

Annunciation House

This volunteer-led organization provides shelter and support to migrants and refugees. The organization takes monetary donations and is in need of volunteers in particular. Short-term volunteers from outside of town must commit to a minimum of two weeks of service. Local volunteers do not have a minimum time commitment. 

Donate or apply to volunteer online.

Sacred Heart Church

The parish in South El Paso is providing meals and letting people spend the night in its shelter, located south of the Greyhound bus station near the Chihuahuita neighborhood.  The church is seeking volunteers every day during various morning, afternoon, evening and overnight shifts.

People can sign up to volunteer online. The church’s website also lists needed supplies with drop-off location and times. You can also make a monetary donation via PayPal.

El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank

El Paso’s food bank needs volunteers to help assemble meals for migrants. The nonprofit is putting together sack lunches to distribute in Downtown El Paso and other locations twice a day. Most volunteer work will take place at the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger warehouse in the Lower Valley at 9541 Plaza Circle. Other volunteer work will take place in the streets to distribute meals. 

Sign up for a shift online. Those who can’t donate time can donate money.

Hope Border Institute and Diocese of El Paso

The Catholic Diocese of El Paso and the Hope Border Institute, a faith-based organization, started a fund to meet the humanitarian needs of migrants stuck in limbo in Juárez. Hope Border Institute’s health clinic takes in doctors and medical students who want to volunteer at Leona Vicario, a migrant shelter in Juárez.

Visit the Diocese’s website to find out how to donate by check or online. 

Rescue Mission of El Paso

This faith-based charity and homeless shelter provides a roof and meals to migrants, according to the organization’s website, which also lists supplies in need. People can bring or mail donations to 221 N. Lee St. in El Paso. Visit the Rescue Mission’s website if you have additional questions.

Opportunity Center for the Homeless

This nonprofit organization serves people who are experiencing homelessness in El Paso, including migrants. Learn more online about how to donate funds or goods.

Abara

This nonprofit partners with migrant shelters on both sides of the border to assist with most in-demand items. Abara manages a donation warehouse and coordinates deliveries to shelters. Make a donation via Amazon Wish List.

Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc. 

This immigration legal aid clinic serves low-income immigrants and refugees residing in the southwestern United States. The vast majority of clients receive their services for free. You can donate to the organization online.

Southwest Asylum and Migration Institute

Founded by immigration attorney Nancy Oretskin, the nonprofit provides low-cost to free legal services. The organization has worked with Annunciation House to host workshops guiding migrants through the process of requesting asylum. People can send monetary donations to SAMI, 1816 Anita Dr., Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001.

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center

Founded in 1987, Las Americas is a nonprofit based in El Paso that provides legal services to immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The organization has helped migrants in Juárez register for the asylum process through the CBP One App. People can apply to volunteer or make a monetary donation. 

Disclosure: El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore is a board member for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank. Moore was not involved in the reporting or editing of this story.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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